The Scottish Government is under pressure to invest in NHS Fife after telling the health board there is no money to fund an overhaul of mental health services.
The Courier understands NHS Fife was asked not to submit a request for the £100 million needed to raise the standard of care.
Chief executive Carole Potter shared the example of changes the health board would like to make – but could not get the funding to do so with politicians at a recent meeting.
It had been attended by politicians from Labour and the SNP.
Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward has now said the Scottish Government should use the money it will receive from the UK Government to invest in the health service.
An extra £1.5 billion is expected to be sent to Scotland this year.
The total budget available to the Scottish Government will then increase by a further £3.4 billion next year.
Ms Ward told The Courier: “After 17 years of the SNP, hospital waiting lists in Fife are so bad that the Scottish Government itself has had to issue an apology.
Mental health crisis
“It is unacceptable that some people are waiting in pain for more than two years for treatment.
“We have a mental health crisis and yet the Scottish Government also recently told NHS Fife not to even submit a request for funding to bring mental health provision up to standard.”
She said last week’s UK Budget gave the Scottish Government an extra £1.5 billion to spend this year and £3.4 billion extra next year.
In June, NHS Fife board papers admitted the health board could not afford to tackle the surgery backlog.
The papers set out how some patients would have to endure even longer delays due to a lack of funding.
In its annual plan, NHS Fife said: “It is not possible to deliver year on year reductions in waiting times and tackle backlogs within the funding available.”
Pressed on whether the NHS in Scotland would benefit from the extra cash delivered as a result of investment south of the border, a spokesman for the first minister said the party had “funded the NHS as best it can”.
A Scottish Government spokesman confirmed: “We will be seeking to pass on all health resource consequentials to health, as had been our long-standing commitment.”
NHS Fife responds
An NHS Fife spokesperson said: “NHS Fife and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership recognise the need to improve our inpatient mental health areas and are committed to doing so as part of our longer-term vision for enhancing mental health services in Fife.
“Work began previously to develop plans for new inpatient mental health facilities in Fife. These plans could not progress further at that time due to the freeze on new capital projects announced by Scottish Government in December 2023.
“Our inpatient wards continue to be maintained to as high a standard as possible, with around £1m spent annually from our existing budgets to improve our mental health areas. This work is ongoing and will help ensure that we provide a homely and therapeutic environment for those in our care.”
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