A Fife woman who feels she is “suffocating” has hit out at the length of time she has had to wait for a hospital appointment.
Anne Goodsir, 68, who lives on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy, has been waiting to be seen in the respiratory medical outpatients clinic at the Victoria Hospital since the start of June.
She was referred by her GP as she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can’t walk more than a few feet without feeling very breathless, almost like she is suffocating.
She has been given several kinds of medication but they gave her heart palpitations. It was due to this side-effect that she was referred to the hospital.
She was told she would be contacted within 12 weeks with news of an appointment date but that was on June 8. She called recently to ask when she would be seen and was told the department was short-staffed and had a backlog of patients.
Having been told she was still 24th on the waiting list, Mrs Goodsir feared her long wait would not be over any time soon.
Having had to buy a mobility scooter to get out and about, she said this is having a horrendous impact on her life, adding: “I can only walk a few yards before I am gasping for breath.”
In desperation she called The Courier to highlight the issues she, and she believes others, may be facing. Happily, a day after the NHS was contacted for an update, Mrs Goodsir got a call to attend a clinic.
NHS Fife chief operating officer for acute services Professor Scott McLean said: “Due to vacancies which have recently arisen in respiratory medicine we have been unable to see respiratory outpatients as quickly as we would wish.
“We are recruiting to these posts and are mitigating the vacancies by using alternatives and reorganising consultant rotas to allow additional outpatient clinics to take place.”
He added: “We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Mrs Goodsir.”