A SCOTTISH hospital had to send an injured youngster to another medical unit because they lacked staff and equipment to stitch a cut.
A boy with a cut leg was taken to the minor injuries unit at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline but no-one could be found to put in stitches.
So the youngster had to be transferred 12 miles to Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital for the routine procedure.
The “incredible” blunder was revealed by a councillor during a question-and-answer session at the Queen Margaret Hospital.
Helen Law said: “A young lad turning up with a gash in his leg and there’s nobody to put in stitches so he’s sent to Kirkcaldy. It’s not good enough.
“It’s about getting it right first time. Not having the most basic supplies, things you would have in your house. People find it incredible that somebody can’t put a stitch in an injury.”
She added: “The biggest issue is the lack of clarity and it also seems that what they do at minor units depends on who is working that day.
“That is what people are being told. You would think a gash on the leg was a minor injury.
“Things are not working and you’ve got to get it right.”
Another councillor, Mike Rumney, told the same meeting: “I did a bit of digging and found out they don’t even have the most basic supplies, things you would have in your house.
“People find it incredible that somebody can’t put a stitch in an injury.”
NHS Fife has come under regular fire over the past year.
The Victoria Hospital has faced numerous complaints from patients since it opened its new wing last year.
In March last year, it was revealed more than 100 complaints had been received in the few months it had been open.
Earlier this yea it was claimed by a whistleblower hospital chiefs redeployed midwives, operating theatre staff and elderly carers into frontline nursing roles to cover-up fears of staff shortages.
A 25-year-old Scots mum was forced to give birth on the frozen pavement outside the hospital in February last year after nurses failed to answer the door buzzer for several minutes.
