Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Kirkcaldy resident hits out at NHS Fife urgent care phone line issues

The woman described her experience during the Kirkcaldy Health Centre closure as "a great failure".

Kirkcaldy Health Centre. Image: Google.
Kirkcaldy Health Centre. Image: Google.

A Kirkcaldy Health Centre patient says she had nowhere to turn during this week’s closure when an emergency phone line was swamped with queries.

The woman told The Courier she tried 10 times to get through on an urgent care number issued by NHS Fife.

However, after listening to a recorded message she was cut off every time.

Health chiefs say thousands of patients diverted to a single number caused issues.

But they have now significantly increased capacity in a bid to improve matters.

The female patient said Tuesday’s experience left her frustrated and angry.

“I have a prescription to collect that I can’t get anywhere else because of the type of prescription it is,” she said.

“I’ve been all over the place trying to get it in the last couple of days and now I can’t get through on the phone.

“I don’t know what to do.”

‘No way to get help’ during Kirkcaldy Health Centre closure

The patient described Tuesday’s frustration as “a great failure”.

NHS 24 doesn’t open until 6pm, so I was left with nowhere to turn and no way to get help. It’s ridiculous,” she said.

Three GP practices at the Whyteman’s Brae centre are expected to remain closed for the rest of the week as a result of emergency gas works.

Gas works on Whyteman's Brae in Kirkcaldy caused the closure of the health centre
Whyteman’s Brae in Kirkcaldy has been shut due to ongoing gas repairs. Image: NHS Fife

Surgeries run by Dr Egerton and Partners, Dr Morris and Partners and Drs Mitchell, Morris and Fordyce are affected.

And the adjoining Well Pharmacy is also shut.

NHS Fife said the Kirkcaldy Health Centre closure is a result of SGN gas works nearby.

Issues due to high number of calls

All pre-arranged appointments are cancelled, unless patients have been advised otherwise.

And anyone with an urgent care need that cannot wait is asked to call 01592 729 250.

NHS Fife thanked people for their patience while trying to get through.

However, they said patients may still have to hold on for a while before they manage to speak to someone.

“We ask also that patients of the affected practices only call for urgent matters to enable those at greatest need to get through as quickly as possible,” they said.

In a serious emergency, people should call 999.

Whyteman’s Brae, which leads to Victoria Hospital, is also closed due to the “complex” work.

Conversation