A Fife alopecia sufferer has described how an axed NHS hairpiece service made her feel like a woman again.
Andrea Duncan, 50, of Kelty, started losing her hair when she was just 17 and has worn a hairpiece for about 12 years.
For the past year the nursery caterer has had personalised wigs provided by Sheds Hairdressing in Dunfermline a service she described as “the best”.
But the service is set to cease in a matter of weeks after Sheds lost its contract with the NHS, because the premises are accessed by a flight of stairs and are therefore not disabled friendly.
Ms Duncan said: “I got total hair loss around 40ish. I’ve been wearing hairpieces permanently for about 12 years. Two years ago I moved from Manchester up to Scotland. To be totally honest, this is the best service I’ve come across, just because of the amount of effort put in.
“With alopecia you don’t go to the hairdresser, but here you feel like you’re sitting in a salon just being treated like a normal customer. When you’re here it’s like you’re having an actual haircut. It’s such a normal thing but when you’ve not had it done for so long, to have a haircut makes you feel like a woman again.”
Sheds has been highly praised for the amount of time the salon spends tailoring individual wigs to the wearer.
More than 1,100 people have now signed a petition calling for the service, which also helps people who have lost their hair to other conditions and chemotherapy, to be saved. The petition is called NHS Scotland: Allow Sheds Hairdressing to Continue Their Wig Cutting Service.
MSP Helen Eadie is among those who have joined the campaign.
Under the Scottish Equality and Diversity Act, audits of premises must be carried out.
NHS Fife director of finance Chris Bowring said the health board follows a procurement process when tendering for services and specific criteria have to be met. As a result, some contracts under the NHS wig service were not renewed.
However, disappointed Sheds clients have expressed outrage at the decision, given the fact that home visits are offered to those unable to use the stairs.
Salon director Douglas Barr has not given up hope that the service can be saved.
He said: “I think it’s looking more hopeful. We just need some suits at the NHS to go by the spirit of the law, not the absolute letter of the law.”
Clients like Ms Duncan are given four pieces a year two every six months.
Photo by David Wardle