Politicians have launched a blistering attack on NHS Fife over its plans for the out-of-hours GP service in Glenrothes.
Glenrothes MP Lindsay Roy and Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Tricia Marwick said the health board was guilty of “downright incompetence and deception” in its handling of the consultation on the service’s future.
They said NHS Fife had gone back on its promise to produce a report on the pros and cons of the available options before public meetings that are set to start this week.
Mr Roy said: “People feel they have been deceived and are rightly questioning whether the health authority is to be trusted over such an important issue as the future of their out-of-hours GP service.”
NHS Fife’s initial plan to move the out-of-hours service from Glenrothes Hospital to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy provoked public outrage.
Bowing to pressure, NHS Fife agreed to examine more options for the service, which included upgrading the Glenrothes site, creating a minor injuries unit at Glenrothes, retaining the out-of-hours service between 6pm to midnight but transferring overnight cases to Victoria, or a complete move to Victoria as originally planned.
According to Labour’s Mr Roy and the SNP’s Mrs Marwick, NHS Fife chief executive John Wilson stated that a paper outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the options would be produced and shared with the community.
Mr Roy said: “It could not have been clearer at the meeting that a report based on further evidence would be issued for consideration before any further consultation.
“I included this very point in a letter summing up what was discussed and which Mr Wilson and (former chairman) Professor McGoldrick both agreed was an accurate reflection.
“Tricia and I confirmed that we were delighted with this assurance, yet it now appears to have been totally ignored.
“As far as we’re concerned, this reeks of downright incompetence and deception and shows a complete disregard and disrespect for the people of Glenrothes and surrounding communities.
“They were promised an opportunity to look at the evidence before any further consultation was held, but that promise has been broken and it would appear that NHS Fife’s acceptance that the proposals needed to be looked at again was simply a case of paying lip service.”
Mrs Marwick added: “It could be construed that certain officials within NHS Fife have already made up their minds that the service should be transferred to the Victoria and, therefore, deemed that putting together a report before the public meetings was a waste of time.
“Lindsay and I are furious at this and further incensed that NHS Fife didn’t have the common courtesy to inform us or anyone else of the decision not to produce the paper. We have written to John Wilson expressing our anger and frustration and assure constituents that we will not let this matter rest.”
Mr Wilson said NHS Fife was committed to following a consultation process as set down by the Scottish Government.
He said: “The paper referred to is one which will ultimately go to the three community health partnerships and the NHS Fife Board, drawing together the options under consideration and feedback, and is still in preparation.
“This process is complex and we are only part of the way through consultation. We need to complete our forthcoming series of open meetings, which will feed into this final paper.
“An options appraisal has recently been undertaken on the pros and cons of the various options and we are awaiting the evaluation of this exercise.
“The forthcoming open meetings, in a range of communities most potentially affected, will provide an opportunity to share the evaluation process, which has been independently facilitated, and the findings from this exercise.
“We cannot share the paper referred to until it has been completed but I would reiterate our commitment to do so as soon as it is available.”