Overnight GP cover in St Andrews and Glenrothes will close for good if officials approve options to be taken to the public next month.
Members of Fife’s Health and Social Care Partnership Board have been asked to consider two possible long-term outcomes for out-of-hours care, neither of which involve the two towns.
Option one would see two urgent care centres open at weekends, public holidays, evenings and overnight at both Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, and Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.
Option two would see all overnight care based in Kirkcaldy only.
If the board approves the paper on Tuesday, the proposals will go to a 14-week public consultation between June and September.
Members have been urged to postpone their decision until services at St Andrews, Glenrothes and Dunfermline fully reopen.
The three centres have been closed between midnight and 8am since the start of April when urgent contingency measures were brought in due to staff shortages.
Since then, all Fife services have been centralised in Kirkcaldy during those hours, despite public fears over travel times and cost.
Officials say both new long-term options would allow for significantly more home visits and advice calls overnight than are currently possible.
The proposals have been branded short-sighted and ill-advised, but health and social care director Michael Kellet said leaving services as they are is not safe, sustainable or responsible.
Out-of-hours care is just one part of the paper the board is being urged to take to consultation.
The public is to be asked about ideas for transforming health and social care services generally, including the formation of community and wellbeing hubs and the future of community hospitals.
The “Joining Up Care” document has been drawn up in response to growing demand on services, increasing complex care needs and the public’s desire to live well at home for longer.
Mr Kellet said: “Ensuring the right care from the right person at the right time is vital, whether this is responding to a poorly child after the GP is shut, being more proactive to support independence and wellbeing or giving complex round-the-clock care to those with long term conditions.
“To meet modern demands we need to adapt systems and change ways of working that have been in place for many years.”
