Accident and Emergency

A&E or phoning 999 is for emergencies only, such as severe injury, a suspected heart attack or stroke, breathing difficulties, or severe bleeding.

Last Updated: 26 September 2023

A&E at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We provide urgent care for people with life-threatening injuries or illness.

If you think you may need to go to A&E, but your condition is not life-threatening, please call 111, where highly trained call handlers will ensure you access the right care in the right place. You will be asked to visit A&E if your symptoms warrant urgent medical treatment.

If you are required to visit A&E, a member of staff from the department will contact you to arrange a time to attend. This will reduce the overall time you spend in A&E.

In an emergency, always call 999.

What happens in the case of non-emergency attendances

You have attended A&E with

A condition that has been present for more than 3 days
A condition with which you have already consulted your own General Practitioner

The senior doctor on duty will come and speak to you and make a decision on whether you will be seen in A&E, they may then advise you to make arrangements to see a General Practitioner. We will attempt to do this as soon as possible, but you may have to wait if the senior doctor is busy attending to emergency patients. If you decide to leave and make arrangements to see a GP, please advise a nurse or a member of the reception staff.

If the senior doctor decides that you should be seen in A&E, you will be seen in order of clinical priority and are likely to have to wait.

To allow us to deal effectively with emergency patients, it is essential that patients with non-emergency conditions make arrangements to see their GP.