Category Archives: Health

Fife Gingerbread AGM

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This week I went along along to Fife Gingerbread AGM. It was a moving and inspiring event. We heard from families who have worked with Fife Gingerbread and their experiences of supporting their children, building their own confidence and getting on in life.

It was great to see the way Fife Gingerbread are imaginatively using creative writing and art with families. It was clear to see how much everyone had benefited from expressing their creative side.

It was also great to hear about the progress of the Teen Fife Teen Parent Project and the awards they have been winning. It was a real pleasure to present the AGM awards this year and help recognise the women’s achievements. Looking forward to next year!

Fife GP Crisis

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Yesterday during Health Questions I raised the growing GP crisis in Fife with the Cabinet Secretary for Health.

The news that Cannons Surgery in Fife has been taken over by NHS Fife and 8 surgeries in Kirkcaldy have closed their list to new patients is a huge cause for concern and it is vital that the Scottish Government take action.

In June £60 million was announced in funding to support GP services, it is important to meet demands that Fife gets its fair share.

You can watch the question below.

Housing & Social Care

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During Portfolio Questions in the Scottish Parliament I raised the issue of housing and its impact on the successful delivery of integrated health and social care in Fife.  

Fife Council has invested significantly in affordable housing and this is to be welcomed. It is also important that if we are to ensure that a joined-up social care agenda is to work that we need suitable retirement housing for those that may require a care package.

For this to be achieved local governments throughout Scotland will need support from the Scottish Government to deliver integrated social care and healthcare. It is important that the Scottish Government are working across portfolio briefs to ensure this can be delivered.

You can watch the question on the video below.

Methil GP taken over by NHS Fife

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It has been recently announced that The Cannons Surgery in Methil will be taken over by NHS Fife as a result of major staffing concerns. The surgery had made various attempts to recruit two GP Principles without any success resulting in one GP single –handedly covering the surgery with support from a Nurse Practitioner.

As a result the decision was taken that The Cannons Surgery would resign from its Section 17C GMS contract in November when NHS Fife will take over the running of the practice.

Alongside the Methil surgery there have been unsuccessful attempts to recruit GPs in Kennoway, Lochore and Dunfermline, with many practices in Fife recording difficulties in securing locum cover.

The warning signs of a crisis in general practice has been growing for some time and the repeated failures to find two full time GPs for Methil will be a major cause of concern for locals and patients at the surgery. Continue reading →

Claire goes pink for breast cancer awareness

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Last week I showed my support for women with breast cancer by dressing up in pink to encouraging constituents to take part in Breast Cancer Now’s flagship fundraiser, wear it pink, on Friday 23rd October.

Wear it pink, the UK’s biggest pink fundraiser, calls on supporters across the country to ditch the day-to-day colours and pull on some pink to raise money for Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving breast cancer research.

I was delighted to join fellow parliamentarians in wearing it pink in Holyrood to encourage people across Scotland to get involved.

Continue reading →

Support for unpaid carers vital

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This week is carers’ week and I have taken the opportunity to back calls for more support for unpaid carers across Mid Scotland and Fife. With an estimated 61,000 unpaid carers throughout the region, with almost half providing over 20 hours of care a week, support is vital.

It is important that the work of unpaid carers does not go unrecognised and unsupported. According to Carers UK, Scotland’s carers save the country £10 billion a year. The least we can do is work to deliver more support for the thousands of unpaid carers across Fife.

Fife is home to over half of Mid Scotland and Fife’s unpaid carers, with Kirkcaldy top of the region with 7,580 unpaid carers ahead of Mid Fife and Glenrothes, which also has over 7,000. Continue reading →

Action needed over NHS missed targets

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Last week it was announced that the number of patients being treated in Accident and Emergency within the 4 hour waiting time target had dropped to 90.9% in December 2014. This is a significant drop from the 98.5% that was recorded in the same month in 2013 and down from the 95.2% in November 2014.

As I result I have written to the Scottish Government to call for them to take appropriate action to address this fall and ensure that the resources are available to staff to enable them to treat patients within the waiting time target.

Staff within the NHS do a great job under ever increasing pressures and therefore it is vital that they have the right resources available to them to ensure that our patients are being treated to the highest possible standards.

We knew previously that NHS Fife is struggling from bed blocking and increasing locum costs. We now know that they are also struggling to meet their four hour waiting time target. That is why the Scottish Government must take action. Continue reading →

Claire calls for action over child homelessness

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This week I called for the Scottish Government to ‘wake up’ to the growing housing crisis facing Scotland after Shelter Scotland released figures showing that over 4,000 children in Scotland will be homeless this Christmas

These figures will shock anyone who has read them and must act as a wake up call to the Scottish Government. Nobody wants to see a single child spend Christmas homeless, let alone 4,000, and we all must work together to fix this growing crisis.

According to Shelter Scotland, a shortage of affordable social housing is the root cause of the problem, which is why I have called for the Scottish Government to back Labour’s proposals for a National Housing Action Plan. Continue reading →

Claire writes to Health Secretary over NHS Fife funding

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This week I have written to the Health Secretary Alex Neil MSP following reports that NHS Fife is on the brink of a staffing shortage. According to the Courier NHS Fife is suffering from a shortage of 40 consultants and finding the hiring of locum staff difficult.

This has contributed to NHS Fife failing to meet its six-week waiting time target with breaches now at their highest ever level and double what they were at the same time last year. At the end of April it was recorded that 1,540 patients out of the 5,765 who were waiting for a diagnostic test have waited for longer than the six week period.

The increase in breaches and the staff shortage highlights deeper problems within the NHS in Fife. It is becoming increasingly clear that due to Government underfunding staff in NHS Fife are being continually stretched beyond their means. Continue reading →

Care home inspections vital for good service

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Recently I met with the Care Inspectorate in the Scottish Parliament to discuss care issues across the Kingdom. The Inspectorate is the official body responsible for inspecting standards of care in Scotland.

Over 14,000 care services are registered with the Care Inspectorate, including care homes, childminders, day care centres and support services which includes care at home. The inspection regime looks at quality of care and support, staffing and management and leadership.

Recent figures from the Inspectorate have found that across Scotland the number of care homes with unsatisfactory or weak grades has increased. However, services in Fife have improved, with now over 95% achieving grades of adequate or better.

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