Hospital type General Hospital Lists Hospitals in Scotland Number of beds 458 Care system NHS Scotland | Emergency department Yes Phone +44 1592 643355 Founded 1967 | |
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Location Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland Address Hayfield Rd, Kirkcaldy KY2 5AH, UK Hours Open today ยท Open 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursSuggest an edit Similar Queen Margaret Hospital, Western General Hospital, St Andrews Community Hospital, Borders General Hospital, St John's Hospital - Livingston | ||
Victoria Hospital is a large hospital situated to the north of the town centre in Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland. As one of two main hospitals in Fife, this serves both the town and surrounding Mid-Fife area. The Victoria is run by NHS Fife.
Contents
The hospital consists of three wings: East, West and South and a main tower block. An adjacent Maggie's Centre is also located within the grounds. In 2012 a new wing opened, which includes a new accident and emergency department; maternity unit and eleven new operating theatres. It serves as a teaching hospital to students from the University of St Andrews School of Medicine, the University of Edinburgh Medical School and the University of Dundee Medical School.
History
After the Second World War, there was demand for a more centralised and bigger hospital to be built in the town to be able to deal with the strains caused by a burgeoning population. This was going to replace the cottage hospital situated to the east of the town which had served as the main hospital in the town since 1890. The original site for the new hospital had been planned for the cottage hospital, but a lack of space for the expansion proved fertile to these plans. A site was eventually chosen around the sanatorium and fever hospital which was completed around 1899 and 1910. Construction of the new hospital began in 1955 and was completed in 1967 giving the entire complex a new name - Victoria.
Previously organisations that have run the hospital include Fife Acute Hospital NHS trust from 1999 to 2004, formerly the Kirkcaldy Acute Hospital trust.
The hospital was threatened with the possible loss of its A & E Department in 2005. These services were to be moved to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline but the proposal was withdrawn after a severe backlash. From January 2012, all of Fife's A & E services are located at the Victoria.
Services
The hospital provides many facilities for the catchment area including an A & E department; ear, nose and throat (ENT) unit; anaesthesia; obstetrics and gynaecology; paediatric surgery; mental health services; infectious diseases and operating theatres. Whyteman's Brae Hospital which is part of the complex caters for psychiatry and elderly patients.
The hospital also has an adjacent Maggie's Centre to support people who are diagnosed with cancer. Known as Maggie's Fife, it opened in November 2006. The centre is a single storey construction, shaped like a prism, was designed by Zaha Hadid, and was her first completed building in the United Kingdom. and shortlisted for the Scottish Design Awards. The money for the project was raised via the Fife Free Press' Maggie's Appeal.
A radio station known as the Victoria Radio Network (VRN 1287) has been on the air since 1971. VRN is now considered one of the UK's longest running and successful hospital radios still on air. In 2002, the station was awarded a license to broadcast on medium wave 1287 kHz (AM) and transmits 24-hours a day.
Performance
The hospital was criticised after an unannounced Healthcare Environment Inspectorate visit in December 2014 which slammed the "serious nature" of its problems with cleanliness.
The orthopaedic surgery team was praised in October 2016 as among the top performing in Scotland for elective orthopaedic surgery. Rates of cancelled operations were among the best in Scotland. The theatres were the second most efficient in Scotland, with fewer early finishes, late starts and less turnover time between patients. A delegation from the British Orthopaedic Association including Timothy Briggs visited in 2015.
Transport
Victoria Hospital is situated to the north of the town centre. There are main bus routes that serve the catchment area for the hospital particularly from Glenrothes, Leven and from the railway station. Bus stances can be found adjacent to the east wing entrance and on the opposite side of the road.
Hospital extension
A major new wing to the south of the current tower block started in 2007 and was completed in 2010 as part of plans to centralise acute services by the NHS trust at this hospital. This included an emergency care centre, maternity unit (to replace those in Forth Park), critical care, coronary care, ultrasound department and 11 new operating theatres. A new A & E department will form part of the new development, among other re-located services. The area surrounding the hospital will include signal controlled junctions; a new mini-roundabout and a possible park and ride system to prevent traffic gridlock in the area. New car spaces will also be provided at both the north and south ends of the hospital.
The new wing was officially opened in August 2012 by Nicola Sturgeon, although services had transferred to the new wing in three separate phases. Initially several services based on the Victoria site had relocated there in December 2011. Services then transferred across from Forth Park Hospital, Kirkcaldy, in January 2012, followed in the same month by a number of services from Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline.