Fife’s health board has strongly rejected claims that staffing levels at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital are not adequate.
The Courier was contacted this week by a nurse, who wished to remain anonymous, who works at the Fife hospital. The nurse suggested that staff are being left to deal with patients on a ratio of 13:1, adding that management and bed co-ordinators are filling beds that are unfunded and are not providing more staff to care for them.
The nurse also alleged that staff were being bullied to accept patients and were going off sick as a result of stress.
However, when these claims were put to NHS Fife, Professor Scott McLean, chief operating officer for acute services, vigorously denied the allegations suggesting that the safety of patients was the health board’s “single biggest priority”.
He added: “The public should be reassured that staffing levels in each ward are reviewed on a daily basis to ensure that they are safe and appropriate.
“The patient-to-nurse ratio across the hospital site averages at 7:1 and there continues to be no unfunded capacity within our bed complement, indeed the hospital was run at between 81-86% total occupancy over the last 10 weeks.”
“Furthermore, we have implemented a series of measures over recent months geared specifically towards enhancing the care of our elderly patients.
“This includes the implementation of daily safety huddles, which includes a focus on frailty.
“These are led by the chief operating officer and are attended by up to 60 senior medical and nursing staff from all areas within the hospital.
“All wards are represented and an assurance is given by each that appropriate staffing levels are in place which allows them to provide good quality care over the course of the day.
“In addition, the introduction of our new falls pathway has significantly reduced the numbers of patient falls with harm within the hospital.
“I would like to offer my reassurance that staffing currently in place allow us to provide the best possible care to patients in Fife.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Rona King, NHS Fife’s director of human resources and organisational development and deputy chief executive, who said any form of bullying or harassment was not tolerated.