The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fife’s main acute hospital urgently needs £29 million upgrade.
Work required on more than a third of region’s medical buildings
A large section of Fife’s main acute hospital needs an urgent £29 million upgrade just to bring it up to standard.
NHS Fife said the condition of the ageing tower block at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy is giving cause for concern.
The 50-year-old block, housing orthopaedics and medical wards, makes up the largest proportion of a massive £72.3m investment needed at health service buildings across the region.
This includes £3m of work at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, £3m at Whyteman’s Brae Hospital in Kirkcaldy, and £1.5m at Cameron Hospital in Windygates.
In all, more than a third of property is in an unsatisfactory or unacceptable condition, although NHS Fife has insisted all buildings are safe and the needs of patients are paramount.
The safety and fabric of our buildings are maintained at a safe level at all times
Andy Fairgrieve, director of estates, facilities and capital services, said the board was unlikely to receive specific funding from government to help with the work but that there was a process to follow if additional money was required.
As health and social care moves towards more community-based treatment, services are being redesigned and some older hospital property is likely to be disposed of.
While two brand new health centres are in the pipeline for Lochgelly and Kincardine, a report written by Mr Fairgrieve has revealed long-term plans to sell off the entire Whyteman’s Brae site and 75% of Stratheden Hospital .
Work is also being done to vacate parts of Cameron Hospital which are within a potential blast zone created by the nearby Diageo plant.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley expressed concern for patients if the psychiatric wards were closed at Whyteman’s Brae and called for more detail on the work needed elsewhere.
Jann Gardner, NHS Fife’s chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, said: “The safety and fabric of our buildings are maintained at a safe level at all times.”