An ailing widow was deprived of a visitor after staff locked the hospital doors and drew the blinds because it was a bank holiday.
Margaret Wallace (75), of Ravenscraig, Kirkcaldy, took the half-hour bus journey to Randolph Wemyss Hospital in Buckhaven to visit widowed Mary Murray, who suffers from motor neurone disease.
When she turned up to visit her friend, she was perplexed to discover she could not get in and the hospital looked closed.
When she got home and phoned the hospital, she was told by staff that the hospital doors were always locked on bank holidays and that she should have gone to the staff entrance to gain entry via buzzer.
Mrs Wallace said there was no notice to tell her this and accused the authorities of ”lacking common sense.”
Mrs Wallace told The Courier: ”My friend, who has few local relatives, was in the Victoria Hospital for two months before being transferred to the Wemyss a week past Friday.
”I went up on Monday to visit but found every one of the doors was locked and the blinds were drawn. There was no way I could get in so I came back home and phoned the hospital and was told that because it was a bank holiday all the doors were kept locked.
”The woman on the phone told me that I should have come to the staff entrance and they would have buzzed me in. But how was I supposed to know that?
”Surely anyone with common sense should have put a notice on the door telling people to use a different entrance. My friend got no visitors as a result. I’m so angry. It’s disgraceful.”
The acting general manager for Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth Community Health Partnership, Mary Porter, said: ”Visitors are required to use the side entrance to gain access to the ward during evenings, weekends and public holidays.
”Family members are advised of this procedure as part of the admissions process. These arrangements are in place to ensure the security of our patients and staff.
”We would like to apologise to Mrs Wallace for the inconvenience caused and confirm that the necessary steps will be taken to ensure notices are posted to alert visitors to use the alternative entrance during these periods.”
The Courier reported in February how a young mum who gave birth outside the new maternity unit at Victoria Hospital pressed the wrong buzzer there and blamed a ”confusing entry system.” A new buzzer system was subsequently installed at the Kirkcaldy hospital.