NHS Fife has launched a new website to keep patients informed about local health and social care services during the coronavirus pandemic.

Health and social care services across the country have been scaled back to enable the NHS in Scotland to best respond to coronavirus. This has led to the cancellation of all but the most urgent procedures and changes to a number of crucial services, and the situation is no different for NHS Fife with many people in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area due for surgery, having it delayed.

As part of efforts to keep local people informed about changes in health and social care provision, NHS Fife has developed a new website which provides a one-stop-shop for updates on local healthcare services during the Covid-19 pandemic, including acute hospital services and community services managed by the Fife Health & Social Care Partnership.

The new website, which can be accessed at coronavirus.nhsfife.org brings together a range of information about local healthcare services and signposts to helpful guidance from NHS Inform and Scottish Government, to support people to limit the spread of the virus here in Fife. The site also includes materials in a range of languages, as well as British Sign Language for those with a hearing impairment.

Chief Executive, Carol Potter, said: “Coronavirus has led to understandable anxiety for people, both in terms of how it may affect their health and the impact it has had on other healthcare services they rely on.

“Our new cronavirus website brings a range of information about local health and social care services together into one place, while providing useful materials to how to access the services you need if you become unwell.”

Over the coming weeks, additional information and new functionality will be added to the site, such as access to NearMe, the new video appointment system enabling patients to discuss their care and treatment with clinicians from the comfort of their own home.

Mrs Potter added: “The situation is evolving rapidly and this has meant taking very difficult decisions, often at short notice, such as those around visiting within our hospitals and the movement of some crucial services patients rely upon.

“It’s crucial, therefore, that local people can access a useful hub with the latest information about health and social care services in Fife, and we expect this new website will do exactly that.”

Nicky Connor, Director of Fife Health & Social Care Partnership said: “There is a lot of information out there coming from various sources, which can be overwhelming. By having a single area for trusted and timely information is extremely important.”

The development of NHS Fife’s new coronavirus site also marks the first stage of a much larger project to replace the Health Board's main website with a new, modern equivalent which is better equipped to provide useful information to the local population in the digital age.

The new website, which will optimised for mobile phones and tablet computers, is due to launch in the early summer.