NHS Fife's A&E is centrally located at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, helping make access as equitable as possible and minimising travel for people living across the Kingdom.
A&E is open 24/7 and is designed to handle serious, life-threatening illnesses or injuries that require immediate attention. This includes life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, severe bleeding, major trauma, and acute respiratory distress.
Staffed by emergency medicine specialists, our A&E has access to comprehensive diagnostic tools like CT scans, MRIs, and an array of surgical facilities, enabling them to provide rapid, and often very complex interventions when time is of the essence. As the A&E is within our major acute hospital, our A&E staff can utilise the expertise of medical staff across a range of different specialities.
Importantly, A&E is for emergencies only. If you suspect a life-threatening emergency, call 999 or head directly to A&E.
If you require urgent care, but it’s not life-threatening, you can call NHS 24 on 111. 111 connects you with a trained healthcare professional who will assess you and advise you on the most appropriate care, which could be a minor injuries unit, the out-of-hours service, your local GP during working hours, or A&E, if necessary.
Using A&E for non-urgent conditions can put unnecessary strain on the service and could delay treatment for those who need it most.
If you have an issue that has been present for two or three days, or is only a minor problem, you should make an appointment with your GP rather than attending A&E.
You can also use the symptoms checker on NHSinform.scot to help you decide what to do next.
Understanding A&E waiting times
We know how important it is that patients attending our A&E are seen quickly. On average, we see over 200 patients each day in A&E, who all need to be assessed, treated and either discharged or admitted to hospital.
The four-hour target
The Scottish government sets a target for 95% of patients to be seen and discharged or admitted within four hours. While we met this target regularly before the pandemic, recent pressures, such as treatment backlogs, have made it more challenging. Currently, we're achieving this target for about three-quarters of A&E patients. You can read the latest monthly statistics on A&E departments across Scotland here. The sickest patients are prioritised.
There are some common misunderstandings about A&E waits. Although many patients will spend several hours within A&E, they will usually be assessed within two to three hours, even during busy times.
Patients with the most serious conditions are always seen first. Prioritising those who are most unwell means that patients with less urgent conditions will experience longer waits.
The sickest patients are prioritised
There are some common misunderstandings about A&E waits. Although many patients will spend several hours within A&E, they will usually be assessed within two to three hours, even during busy times.
Patients with the most serious conditions are always seen first. Prioritising those who are most unwell means that patients with less urgent conditions will experience longer waits.
The front door to a wider hospital network
Our A&E is interconnected with other parts of the hospital system. When A&E is busy, it often reflects wider pressures within the hospital, such as a high demand of beds in other wards. Essentially, this means that even if our A&E itself is not overcrowded, long waits can occur due to broader hospital capacity issues.