Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy
Emergency Medicine training
The Victoria Hospital Kirkcaldy is a short commute across the Queensferry Crossing from Edinburgh. The majority of trainees will rotate through VHK at some point in their training. VHK is well regarded amongst trainees as an enjoyable and friendly place to work. There is close working with the consultant body who are very supportive of trainees.
VHK ED is a busy emergency department which sees a wide range of pathology. There is a broad mix of skills- on any given shift you will share the shop floor with Foundation Doctors, GP trainees, Clinical Development Fellows, Registrars, GP’s with specialist interest, EM specialty doctors and Consultants.
The department benefits from an in-house Frailty Team with a multi-disciplinary approach to elderly care which starts at the presentation. In some cases, patients may be able to have care facilitated for home from the ED, or where this is not possible care is started in the ED and continued downstream often significantly shortening patients' length of stay.
Trainees will generally rotate to Fife in HST. This provides ample opportunity for training.
The department sees between 180-300 per day with approximately 25% paediatrics. We are a Trauma Unit within the South-East Scotland Trauma Network and have established close links with the Major Trauma centres in Lothian and Ninewells.
There is a 24-hour ENP-led Minor Injuries Unit Located at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline which is clinically supported by the senior doctors in the Emergency Department at the Victoria Hospital.
| Dr Bappa Roy | Clinical governance lead; FRCEM examiner; NES Appraiser |
| Dr Maggie Currer | Deputy Clinical Lead; Major Incident Lead; Child Protection Lead; NES Appraiser |
| Dr Julie Thomson | Audit / QI lead; PEM; Deputy MRCEM exam lead; NES appraiser; |
| Dr Surinder Panpher | Associate Postgraduate Dean (NE) for Careers, Foundation Programme Director; Undergraduate teaching lead. |
| Dr Nilesh Champaneria | Clinical lead for Digital & Information Acute Care; Unscheduled Care Lead |
| Dr Kate Searle | Deputy Clinical Lead, Patient Safety lead, workforce lead |
| Dr Melvin Carew | Clinical Lead; Foundation Programme Director; PEM; FRCEM/MRCEM examiner. |
| Dr Fiona Duncan | Rota co-ordinator, ED teaching co-ordinator, Scot GEM Lead |
| Dr Jonathan Hanson | Consultant in Sports & Exercise Medicine with interest in EM, Scottish Rugby Union & Scottish Institute of Sport doctor, F1 doctor. |
| Dr Keith Jacques | ENP / ACP lead, Stroke lead, FRCEM examiner |
| Dr Claire Stewart | Orthopaedics & Obstetrics lead |
| Dr Elspeth Pitt | Wellbeing & peer support lead; FRCEM Examiner |
| Dr Roger Alcock | PEM; Expedition Medicine; International Committee of the Red Cross EM specialist. |
| Dr Dan Day | Ultrasound Lead. RCEM College Tutor. |
| Dr Rajendra Raman | Critical Care lead; Pharmacy lead; Research Lead. Trauma unit joint lead. St Andrew’s research champion |
| Dr Kian Dastoori | PEM and Paediatric lead |
| Dr Catriona Fullarton | Prehospital EM with EMRS North work. SAS lead, Junior rota co-ordinator. |
| Dr Claire Moggach | |
| Dr Micheal Adamson | Triage lead |
| Dr Jane Grassie | ED mental health and addictions lead |
| Dr Alexander Robertson | Co-lead of the RCEM green ED programme, PEM |
Emergency Department Facilities
Resuscitation Area
8 resuscitation bays, including a dedicated paediatric bay, with capability to accommodate 5 ventilated patients
All bays have full invasive monitoring capability, 3 are enclosed negative pressure rooms to allow performance of aerosol generating procedures
Facilities for CPAP/BiPAP
Mobile x-ray and processing
Dedicated Blood gas analyser
Phillips Sparq ultrasound machine
Majors/Immediate Care Area
9 monitored cubicles
Central staff base island with computer access to Trakcare (includes electronic ordering for pathology and radiology)
Clinical portal
StaffLink (departmental guidelines, protocols and rotas) and PACS radiology.
Ultrasound machine
Paediatrics
Paediatric waiting area separate from the main waiting area, with direct access into 2 dedicated paediatric consulting rooms
Psychiatry Interview Room
A secure, private interview room with dual access and egress to main reception in the ED.
Emergency Medicine Observation Unit (EMOU)
6 bed observation unit solely for admission of short-stay patients under the care of the on-call emergency physician. This includes head injury observation, low-risk chest pain, toxicology, post sedation observation and other conditions at the discretion of the on-call consultant. This clinical area is not used for the accommodation of patients awaiting admission under other specialties and there are strict admission criteria.
There is a multi-use office co-located with the ward with access to computers, which is also used for teaching sessions. In addition, there is consultant office space, senior nursing and doctors’ offices, secretarial accommodation, and a relatives’ room.
In-patient specialty support on – site
On-site support includes Stroke, Anaesthetics, Critical Care (who manage ITU), General Medicine (including Medical HDU), Cardiology and CCU, General Surgery (including Surgical HDU), Trauma and Orthopaedics, Maxillofacial Surgery & Dentistry, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and ENT. Other specialties are available for advice and patient review during the day, or on-call from home – these include neurology, respiratory, GI and urology.
Primary PCI, cardiothoracic and neurosurgery are accepted by the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Patients requiring vascular surgery are transferred to Ninewells Hospital. Local arrangements are in place for other surgical specialties (breast, burns, plastics etc.)
There is a stroke thrombolysis service which operates 24/7 either through on-site stroke or emergency physicians or telemedicine support from the regional hub. A stroke thrombectomy service is in the earlier stages of implementation, with suitable patients being transferred to Ninewells Hospital.
Emergency radiology is provided in a dedicated emergency diagnostic suite directly adjacent to the department. There is 24-hour access to CT scanning with direct to scan protocols for trauma and head injury patients. MRI is available on site within office hours. Emergency laboratory investigations are available 24 hours per day.