THERE were 90 complaints lodged to NHS Fife last month, a Freedom of Information request has found.

Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, questioned the health board after finding that that just 2.6 per cent of Stage 2 complaints, those which are more complex, are being answered within 20 working days.

In the previous 12 months a total of 1001 complaints have been made to the service, with an average of 77 per month, the highest figure was recorded last October, when there were 115 cases.

These numbers have risen recently, with 95 registered in August and 90 in September compared to 68 in both June and July.

So far this month there have been 22.

According to the Scottish Government target, 50 per cent of these should be addressed within 20 working days by March 2023.

Currently this is being missed by more than 47 per cent and by March 2024 the objective is due to rise to 65 per cent.

A widower recently told our sister title, the Dunfermline Press, that he had waited more than 80 days for a response to a complaint over the way his late wife was treated at Victoria Hospital.

He says that she was left without food, water, or medication for more than 13 hours while on a ward and that he was told by a doctor that her death was a result of inadequate care.

NHS Fife says there has been "month-on-month improvement" in how quickly they are able to reply to complaints and acknowledged that "the speed with which we have responded to Stage 2 complaints has not been at an acceptable level", confirming that "a number of measures have been taken to enable the board to respond more quickly moving forward."