Main updates
Storm Babet
Storm Babet has brought exceptionally wet and windy conditions to Fife. The latest information on any impacted services will be detailed on our Storm Babet webpage.
Financial performance and sustainability
At the latest meeting of the NHS Fife Board, an update was given on our current financial landscape.
A £10.9 million overspend has been reported for the first four months of the 2023/2024 financial year. This has mainly been driven by ongoing challenges in our acute services, including the legacy of Covid, and necessary funding of external healthcare providers, such as supplementary staffing agencies, and service-level agreements with laboratory services and neighbouring Health Boards.
We continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to deliver a number of measures aimed at reducing the current financial gap, aligning with our medium-term financial improvement and sustainability plan.
More detailed information relating to the financial update can be found on page 62 of the Board papers.
New GP contractor taking over Kinghorn, Valleyfield and the Links
A new GP contractor has been appointed to take over three local practices.
Dr Gilani and Partners will take over the running of practices in Kinghorn, Valleyfield, and the Links in Burntisland. All three have been run by NHS Fife and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership since the previous partners handed back the contracts for the delivery of services.
Patients have been sent letters informing them of the appointment. More information is available here.
Fife GP Practices closing for protected training time
Local GP practices are taking part in a protected learning time (PLT) session on Wednesday the 1st of November, between 1pm and 6pm.
Practices participate in several PLT sessions throughout the year, which allows them to provide access to training for the whole practice team.
Access to urgent care will continue throughout the PLT and Urgent Care Services Fife (Out of Hours Service) will provide support to patients whose practices are closed. This care can be delivered via telephone consultation, assessment in one of Fife's urgent care centres, or a home visit.
Director of public health report launched
Our Director of Public Health Report has been published, setting out the key health and wellbeing issues affecting people in Fife.
The report, which is intended to help shape more targeted local responses to public health issues, also drills down into factors affecting children and young people - covering physical and mental health, as well as tackling inequalities.
Annual review
We’re hosting our Annual Review at the Rothes Hall, Glenrothes, on Monday the 13th of November (10am – 12.30pm) – a revised date from what we issued in the last elected members update.
The Annual Review is a look back at the performance of NHS Fife over 2022/2023 – both in terms of public spending and the provision of services - and will be the first in-person event since the pandemic. For the first time in Fife, the meeting will also be live streamed, with members of the public able to join online via a streaming option.
The event is free to attend and will include opportunities to listen to presentations from senior leadership and take part in a Q&A.
Child flu drop-in clinics
To make vaccination opportunities more accessible for patients, we’ve been hosting a series of flu vaccination drop-in clinics for children aged 2-5.
Over the last fortnight, parents have been able to bring their children along to local venues without an appointment. More information is available here.
Staff awards
The hard work and dedication of our staff was recognised at the Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy, on the 29th of September.
More than 120 people attended the NHS Fife Staff Awards, which was the first since 2019, after the awards were put on hold during the pandemic.
Our online awards hub has photos, video and nomination videos from the night.
Four Scottish health award nominees shortlisted
We were extremely proud to learn that NHS Fife has four finalists in this year's Scottish Health Awards:
- Doctor Award: Dr Joanna Bowden, Dr Kerri Davidson
- Allied Health Professional Award: Pierette Melville
- Global Citizenship Award: Dr Andrew Blaikie
The event takes place at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh on the 2nd of November. More information on the awards is available here.
Allied health professions day 2023
Last week, we took to social media to celebrate our allied health professions – or AHPs as they’re often known.
Whilst AHP Day 2023 fell on the Saturday, we celebrated on the day before to give services and staff the opportunity to take part in and promote their own celebrations. AHPs are the third largest clinical workforce in our NHS and there are nine allied health professions working across NHS Fife.
You can view some of the day’s activities here.
Play in hospital week
Last week, our children’s ward celebrated Play in Hospital Week, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of play in the treatment of poorly children across the UK.
You can see photos from the week and some of the children, staff, and organisation that took part here.
Statistical information
NHS Performs
NHS Performs brings together a range of information on how NHS Fife is performing, including A&E performance, cancelled operations, delayed discharges and diagnostic waiting times.
The latest information can be viewed here.
Workforce information
NHS Education for Scotland publishes a quarterly update on workforce related information, including the number of staff directly employed by NHS Fife and the number of vacant posts for nursing and midwifery staff, allied health professions, and medical and dental consultants.
The interactive dashboard also outlines trends over time and references other useful information such as sickness absence rates, staff age profile, and spend on agency and bank. The latest publication was published in June and can be viewed here.
Sharing our messages
We appreciate the support of elected members in sharing our health messages with constituents and on social media.
All Information correct at time of publishing. Issued by the corporate communications service.