WATCH: NHS Fife scrap visiting hours

Families will soon get to visit NHS Fife hospital patients any time, any day of the week.

The health board's doing away with visiting hours from the start of October.

Cara Smith is a charge nurse in the gynaecology ward at the Victoria Hospital.

She said 'Welcome Wards' will make a huge difference: "The visitors can come at any point throughout the day. They're here more often, on more days, so it's easier for us to speak to them if we need to, and it's nicer for the patients because they have a bit more interaction throughout the day.

"Every other ward I've worked on has had the set visiting times. It's very restrictive in terms of trying to get hold of relatives."

Donna Hughes is head of person centred care. She added: "In this day and age a lot of people work and public transport is always difficult as well, so a lot of the patients' relatives and families have complained about not being able to get to hospital within the set times.

"If you're in an environment that's unfamiliar to you, and you're not with the people you're closest to, it's quite a daunting experience to be there, so having the people who matter to you beside you at a time when you really need them is really important.

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