"Skin Treatment and other comments"

Last May/June I was referred by my Dr to the Dermatology Department at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy,my skin had been incredibly itchy for some weeks and no standard creams/treatments that had been prescribed were helping it.

I was made very welcome and the department seemed very relaxed but still with a professional tone. First names were used between me and all the nurses.

I had to have a biopsy which was done on the same day(I was very nervous)but the young Dr was very reassuring.

My results came back and I was diagnosed with Lichen Planus and i was given all the information and what treatment etc I would be getting,I was then advised that I would be having treatment in Dunfermline twice a week.

I was disapointed I had to travel and Kirkcaldy told me that the machines were broken and were to expensive to repair - I wasn't overly impressed with this but I needed treatment quickly.

The girls at Dunfermline Dermatology are really just fantastic,friendly,informative and really helped me cope with my worries and stress at any time,this would include when I called to book app's,get help and advice and as I had my treatment for just under a year,there was always time for a chat and a catch up.Could not fault them at all.

My feedback would be to have the machines fixed at Victoria,it was such a hassle going to Dunfermline twice a week,especially when I had other commitments on the same day/nights as my appointments,it really was very draining. It would have been great if an out of hours clinic was offered(they only have it on a Friday night)as you can imagine working app's in to suit my work was quite difficult and this really would have taken any further stress away.

My only other comment about Dunfermline is the supposed smoking section which is supposed to be away from the main door,I can't tell you how many times I had to informed reception and although apologies were made and security guards were brought down to move people away,it always went back to the same,my last visit I did notice they had a tannoy outside warning smokers which seemed quite alarming when it went off. Perhaps a shelter could be provided as there was not one in sight. Ashtrays yes but as people smoked at the door there were cigarette ends all over the place which was not a good sight. It was not pleasant when you were walking in and people did not even move for you whilst smoking,this I really did not appreciate,I understand this is very difficult to control but how do other hospitals control this? I never experienced this at Victoria so perhaps sharing ideas with colleagues would be a good approach.

I know this is not to do with the service but it does reflect on the Hospital overall.