Kirkcaldy hospital staff fear for their jobs
Worried staff at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy have been confiding in Fife councillor and health campaigner Andrew Rodger about their concerns, after NHS Fife admitted ward 13 will shut its doors for good next month.
Victoria Hospital.
- By Charlene Wilson
- Published in the Courier : 23.07.10
- Published online : 23.07.10 @ 11.56am
Levenmouth councillor Andrew Rodger told The Courier he had been inundated with emails from NHS staff who fear they could lose their jobs as a result of the closure, which takes place on August 1.
"There are only a matter of days left until the ward closes, yet I have been told by reliable sources that a large number of staff have not been offered employment elsewhere and those who have voiced their concerns are not being given adequate assurances that their jobs are safe.
"I have also been informed that staff are struggling because, with the imminent closure of the ward, there is a serious daily shortage of appropriate beds which is leading to bed co-ordinators placing patients in the wrong wards, leading to various problems for staff and patients."
Ward 13 was selected for closure as it is the only one which does not have a medical speciality, plus it is said to be in the poorest condition.
Questions over the ward were first raised in April by staff, but Mr Rodger was repeatedly assured by NHS Fife chairman Jim McGoldrick that there were no closure plans.
However, last week medical director Dr Gordon Birnie finally admitted the fate of the ward at a committee meeting. He said staff shortages meant failure to reduce bed numbers at Victoria Hospital would present a "significant risk" to both daily and out-of-hours cover.
Shortages have led to overstretched junior doctors not being trained properly and the European working time directive is not complied with. This has already led to temporary closures of the A&E department recently, with emergency patients sent to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.
Dr Birnie said that a cut in bed numbers would not cause a problem as plans were in place to increase treatment given on an outpatient and day-care basis, rather than admitting patients to hospital.
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