WOMEN who have suffered miscarriages are being forced to share a corridor with new mums in Fife.

That’s one of the ways the Kingdom’s health board is failing patients with conditions such as endometriosis, according to MSP Roz McCall.

She says that for the past three years, since the closure of the gynaecology ward at Victoria Hospital, women in Fife have had no access to a dedicated specialist.

This means that those requiring care have been moved to a small section of the maternity ward, which she claims is only separated from mothers and newborn babies by a curtain.

The Conservative politician said: “The fact that women in Fife who may have miscarried, or have other acute gynaecological issues, are forced to share a corridor with other women who have just given birth, is frankly appalling.

“I know from personal experience that access to in-patient services for endometriosis sufferers is absolutely vital for women who are fighting the debilitating symptoms of the disease.

“It can take over eight years for a diagnosis and these women are being let down by a lack of access to specialist care.”

She asked Deputy First Minister John Swinney at the Scottish Parliament to urgently address the lack of services in Fife, following concerns raised by a consistent.

The NHS says that the debilitating, long-term condition can have a significant impact, sometimes leading to depression and difficulty getting pregnant.

Ms McCall added: “The gynaecology ward at the Victoria Hospital needs to be urgently re-instated in full as soon as possible.

“Women across Fife are being let-down and I hope that the Deputy First Minister heard that message loud and clear at Holyrood.”

While the MSP had believed that the closure of the unit was down to the pandemic, NHS Fife confirmed that the move to Ward 24 happened in 2019 to facilitate the relocation of the Medicine of the Elderly Ward to a newer part of the hospital.

The service added that since then women have continued to have uninterrupted access to the same dedicated gynaecology care.

Claire Dobson, director of acute services at NHS Fife, said: “It is incorrect to suggest that women in Fife have had no access to a dedicated specialist gynaecology department over recent years.

“Indeed, our gynaecology service continues to see significant numbers of women each year, and while the physical location of the service moved back in 2019, women in Fife, including those with endometriosis, have continued to have access to the specialist gynaecology service throughout.

“Furthermore, we are acutely aware of physical and psychological needs of patients accessing the gynaecology service, and while there are both maternity and gynaecology services provided within the footprint of Ward 24, we maintain complete separation of the two patient groups with separate exit and entry points for each.”

She continued: “To suggest that women who have miscarried are only separated from those with newborn babies by a curtain is entirely inaccurate.

“This specialist service within Ward 24 is also in addition to the dedicated surgical ward area for gynaecology, which is staffed with appropriately trained and experienced nursing staff. Work to further improve the environment in Ward 24 and create even greater separation between the two services will also begin shortly.”