Hospital ward closed at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, after unannounced health inspection

A hospital ward in Fife has been closed following an unannounced visit by health inspectors.

Maintenance issues were identified at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy after officials from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) inspected the ear, nose and throat ward from July 31 to August 2.

NHS Fife has now closed the ward in order to carry out refurbishment work, while patients were relocated to other parts of the hospital.

The health board said it had already been planning the refurbishment of the ward but had now brought this forward following the inspection.

Director of nursing, Janette Keenan, said: “We want to ensure the care we provide for patients is carried out in the best possible healthcare environments.

“The recent inspection from HIS visited a wide variety of areas within the Victoria Hospital, including those wards within the older part of the site, and identified areas where general maintenance was required.

“The health and wellbeing of our patients and staff are our single biggest priority and the improvement works already planned have now been brought forward to ensure we can address these areas as quickly as possible.”

A full report on the issues identified by the HIS inspectors will be published online at a later date.

A HIS spokesperson said: “During all our hospital inspections we provide immediate feedback on the day in relation to any key issues we identify.

“This allows the NHS board to take action well in advance of the final report being published. We will publish our findings within the full inspection report at the earliest opportunity.”