An outspoken campaigner for Fife health services staged a silent protest against accident and emergency closures in Kirkcaldy.
Councillor Andrew Rodger brought his own prescription to the town’s Victoria Hospital yesterday, saying “Fife patients deserve better, nurses deserve better, junior doctors deserve better. Treatment required major surgery carried out on NHS Fife senior management team.”
Joined by council colleagues Tom Adams and Lawrence Brown, Mr Rodger greeted patients and staff as they arrived.
“People have been supportive,” said Mr Rodger. “Nurses and staff going in have been putting their thumbs up. I’m getting quite a good response. “In staging this protest I’m hoping NHS Fife stops closing down beds and ensures that A&E at Victoria remains open at all times until the new hospital wing opens.
“Nurses have been saying they want to stand out here with me, but the organisation they work for does not allow them to do that.”
Mr Rodger believes senior management at NHS Fife are to blame for the shortage of junior doctors in Kirkcaldy. He claims the region’s health board was the only one in Scotland not to meet requirements regarding grading and rota training for such medical staff. A
shortage of staff has seen the hospital unable to accept acute medical admissions, while the accident and emergency department has been forced to operate as a minor injuries clinic overnight on a temporary basis.