Devastated relatives call for overhaul of hospital complaints system after traumatic end-of-life care experiences
Three families in Fife are demanding answers and reform after alleging that severe failings in NHS care robbed them of precious final moments with terminally ill loved ones.
The families—who have shared their stories with Scotland Tonight—describe harrowing experiences in NHS Fife facilities, claiming they were dismissed, traumatised, and neglected as their partners and parents neared death. Despite formal apologies from NHS Fife, the families say trust has been broken beyond repair.
Among them is Trish Nolan, whose husband John Nolan, a retired teacher, died in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy on June 20, 2020, following an ordeal that she says still haunts her to this day.
“Help me. Help me.”
John Nolan had been battling aggressive bladder cancer since March 2020. In June 2022, when his condition deteriorated, he was taken to Victoria Hospital by ambulance—only to be met, according to Trish, with confusion, indifference, and outright neglect.
“I’ll never forget her words,” Trish recalled of the nurse who met them. “She said, ‘put them in there’. The paramedic asked, ‘That’s a sitting room. It’s not appropriate.’ John was bleeding, had no bowel or bladder control—and he was still fully aware.”
Trish said she was repeatedly ignored by staff who insisted her husband was “not a priority,” despite his admission being arranged through the cancer helpline. He remained in hospital for three and a half weeks before his death.
“He kept grabbing my arm saying, ‘Help me, help me.’ And I couldn’t get anybody to come in,” she said. “The indignity… because he was still very aware. That has stayed with me.”
A Complaint System in Crisis
Though Trish initially hesitated to make a formal complaint, she eventually raised her concerns—only to discover that the head of patient experience, known as HOPE, who handled her case, had also served as clinical nurse manager on the same ward.
“I felt it was a conflict of interest,” Trish said. “She was taking a complaint about her own colleagues.”
After a prolonged process, it took over a year for NHS Fife to respond. By then, Trish had been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which her psychologist attributes in part to what she witnessed during her husband’s hospital stay.
She has never opened the response letter from NHS Fife.
NHS Apologises – But Families Want Reform
In a statement, NHS Fife acknowledged failings in Mr Nolan’s care and formally apologised to his family, saying aspects of his treatment “did not meet the standards patients should expect.”
But for Trish and others, the apology is too little, too late. They are now calling for:
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An independent and transparent complaints process.
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A ban on staff investigating complaints tied to their own departments.
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Mandatory training for staff on end-of-life dignity and communication.
Not Alone in Grief
Trish’s story is one of several emerging from the region. Two other Fife families interviewed by Scotland Tonight described similar breakdowns in communication, care, and accountability.
Rather than being able to focus on saying goodbye, they say they were forced into a system that dismissed their voices and delayed answers.
“Whilst I knew I was going to lose him,” Trish said, “the effects of what happened have left me broken in many places. And I don’t feel I can put myself back together.”
Pressure Mounts on NHS Fife and the Scottish Government
The revelations come amid growing scrutiny of Scotland’s health system, particularly in palliative and end-of-life care. Advocates are urging Holyrood to intervene, calling for independent review mechanisms for NHS complaints and a culture shift in how dying patients are treated.
MSPs have begun to ask questions, while patient rights groups say these cases reflect a systemic issue, not isolated lapses.
For the families at the centre of this fight, the stakes are personal—but their hope is that no one else has to go through what they did.
