NHS Fife paid £9000 a week for additional ambulances while the accident and emergency unit at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital was closed overnight.
More crews were brought in to ensure Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth had sufficient ambulance cover while emergency cases were diverted to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.
The A&E at Victoria has been downgraded to a minor injuries unit several times this year as part of overnight contingency plans drawn up in response to a shortage of doctors.
Difficulties drawing up out-of-hours rotas for junior doctors at both Victoria and Queen Margaret caused by European restrictions on working hours and problems finding locum cover were said to be behind the measures, which also included suspension of acute medical admissions at Victoria between 5pm and 8am.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said, “NHS Fife has worked closely with us to ensure that the temporary reduction in A&E services at Victoria Hospital did not impact on the provision of ambulance services in the area.
“This includes funding of additional resources at certain times in Fife to allow for the extra distance travelled.
“These arrangements have ensured that there has been no impact on ambulance services or response times in Fife.”
An NHS Fife spokeswoman said, “NHS Fife has agreed to fund any additional costs incurred during the contingency.
“The costs depend upon the additional demand placed on the ambulance service.”
She added, “However, as an example, the cost of the additional journeys undertaken by the Scottish Ambulance Service when the contingency was implemented for a week in May of this year was just over £9000.”Junior intake to plug gapsThis week public health minister Shona Robison gave an assurance that August’s intake of junior doctors would be sufficient to prevent the A&E being downgraded again.
But NHS Fife said it could not guarantee the temporary closures would not be needed at some point before the hospital’s new wing opens in 2012.
Health bosses have indicated the new wing will bring an end to the contingency plans because rotas would no longer have to be drawn up for two sites.
On Thursday pressure mounted on health secretary Nicola Sturgeon to intervene.
Mid-Scotland and Fife Labour MSP Claire Baker said, “Nicola Sturgeon needs to give assurances that a long-term solution to this situation will be found.
“It appears that even NHS Fife are not confident that the current actions taken by the Scottish Government will stop the repeated closures of A&E services at Victoria Hospital.”
The government has also come under fire from Labour councillor Alex Rowley, who said the problems at Victoria were caused by slashing training posts for junior doctors.
A government spokeswoman said, “We continue to work very closely with NHS Fife to explore and address any recruitment issues that may exist, and alongside other boards they are currently engaged in work around reshaping the medical workforce.”
Image used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user ypy31.
