Assurances have been sought about plans for the reopening of a Fife hospice amid concerns for the future of palliative care services in the region.
The nine-bed hospice at Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and patients have instead been cared for in their own homes.
Fife Health and Social Care Partnership said the temporary move was to protect those most vulnerable to the effects of the virus.
It said plans were being drawn up to remobilise services when it was safe to to do so but no timescale has been given regarding palliative care.
The situation at the hospice was raised as the Fife Integration Joint Board voted through controversial plans to close the Wellesley Unit, which offers end of life care at Randolph Wemyss Hospital in Buckhaven.
Mid Scotland and Fife Labour MSP Claire Baker said: ““With Queen Margaret Hospice also currently closed, the provision of crucial palliative care services by NHS Fife is coming increasingly under threat.
“We must ensure that across Fife we are able to offer patients palliative and end of life care in the setting they or their families choose.
“Having family members cared for at home is not an option for everyone.”
The partnership’s divisional general manager Claire Dobson said: “During the preparation for managing Covid-19 in Fife a number of services were temporarily relocated to reduce the risks for those people most vulnerable to the effects of the virus.
“As a result some services, such as palliative care, were supported to deliver care in the community and so staff from Queen Margaret Hospice have instead been caring for people in their own homes.
“Inpatient palliative and end of life care has been available at community hospitals across Fife.
“People have also been cared for at the Victoria Hospice in Kirkcaldy.
“Throughout our response to the pandemic, our focus has been on providing the right care, in the right place and, like all services across the health and social care partnership, the palliative care service is developing plans to remobilise services as soon as it is safe to do so.”
