The chief executive of NHS Fife John Wilson has pledged to keep investing in staff following a growing number of complaints over care at the Victoria Hospital.
A meeting between the health board’s senior officials and MSPs and MPs took place last Friday and was dominated by the politicians’ concerns, many coming from unhappy constituents.
As he said that NHS Fife is investing a further £2.733 million to enhance patient experience in 2013-14, Mr Wilson said: “We are aware that not every patient experience has been as positive as we would have wished and we are sorry where that has been the case.
“We remain absolutely committed as an organisation to improving the patient experience and supporting our staff in delivering the very best care.
“We are already taking action to make improvements in areas where we have identified there to be additional support needs and are investing in further staffing across the system.
“We will continue to review progress in all areas to ensure that these developments are reflected positively in the patient experience.”
Mr Wilson said the £2.733m funding will include the recruitment of 10 WTE (whole time equivalent) consultants, and a further 20 WTE nursing, allied health professionals and support staff, covering a range of specialities including urology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, respiratory medicine, paediatrics, neurology and radiology.
The recruitment process for these posts is already under way. Work is also continuing to improve the four-hour emergency access standard. It follows last year’s specific redesign work.
The board has already recruited an additional four A&E consultants, bringing the total complement to 12, expanding the availability of senior medical cover into evenings and weekends.
It also continues to develop real alternatives to in-patient treatment for older people, including Hospital at Home, which is currently being rolled out across the whole of Fife following a successful pilot in West Fife.
Mr Wilson said NHS Fife has a good track record of achieving local waiting times targets, particularly with regard to the 18 week referral to treatment target where it continues to meet the 90% target.
However, it says it recognises the need to increase its staffing to meet increasing capacity demands.
As part of the chairman and chief executive’s discussion with MPs and MSPs last Friday, assurances have been provided over recent concerns in some performance areas, and details of the board’s investment plans to improve clinical capacity issues were discussed in detail.
Mr Wilson said that in common with other boards, NHS Fife has faced a challenging winter period with increased numbers of patients with complex health needs coming through the system.
Winter capacity demands have exceeded those planned for and placed significant pressure on services.
In response NHS Fife has identified a number of actions and areas where additional support is necessary.