Fife health centres: two towns told funding for new centres not a priority

Confirmation of the delay came in a letter from a Scottish Government Minister, officially kicking new facilities planned for Lochgelly and Kincardine into the long grass.

Michael Matheson was responding to a letter from David Ross, leader of Fife Council, who said the failure to provided new centres would “make it harder for NHS Fife to provide effective health care.”

The health authority had been pursuing plans to build both, but a decision by the Scottish Government to adopt a phased approach to capital expenditure meant neither could be delivered within planned timescales, and with no further updates planned until 2025, they may not even see the light of day until the end of the decade.

The u-turn angered politicians in Fife, with the local authority firing off a letter to Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care. Mr Matheson has confirmed neither centre was identified as a priority - despite being promised for a decade.

In a joint statement, Labour councillors Linda Erskine (Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty) and Graeme Downie (West Fife & Coastal Villages) said: “We are furious but not surprised that the SNP/Green Scottish Government does not consider new health centres in Kincardine and Lochgelly to be a priority.

“Both new health centres were promised well over a decade ago, with both current buildings entirely unfit for purpose. Not only does that make it harder to deliver effective health care but also to recruit people to work in a poor workplace environment.”

Funding for both remains within the planned investment of £10 billion in health infrastructure over the next 10 years.

NHS Fife said it was committed to delivering the centres. Last month, Dr Joy Tomlinson, NHS Fife’s director of public health, said: “This important project will enable us to bring together a range of health and wellbeing services – GP practices and social care to community and voluntary services. This will allow us to deliver healthcare services with an emphasis on wellbeing and prevention in the heart of these communities.”