THE question of when the people of Dunfermline will be given the "hospital service they deserve" has been taken to the Scottish Parliament.

MSP Roz McCall, who represents Mid Scotland and Fife for the Scottish Tories, asked the Health Secretary on Thursday why residents of "one of the fastest growing cities in the UK" are "suffering unnecessarily".

Speaking at Holyrood she said: "The people of Dunfermline are quite rightly proud of their new found city status.

"The city is now one of the fastest growing in the UK in terms of population, with another 1400 houses due for construction.

"Unfortunately the city's health provision at Queen Margaret Hospital is not reflected in this.

"Chemotherapy unit closed and relocated to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Accident and Emergency Department closed, maternity unit closed.

"People are suffering unnecessarily due to this centralisation.

"My question to the Cabinet Secretary is simple: When will the people of Scotland's newest city get the hospital service they deserve."

Ms McCall says the lack of full services is a "life and death matter" and that Dunfermline should be "afforded the same hospital services as the vast majority of other major cities".

She said: "I will continue to fight for the people of the City of Dunfermline, by working tirelessly to bring full A&E, maternity and cancer treatment services back to the Queen Margaret Hospital.

"Having seen first hand with my husband how critical time is when getting a stroke victim to hospital, I am deeply concerned at the lack of an A&E department at the Queen Margaret Hospital.

"This is a life and death matter, and it is about time that the Scottish Government listened to the needs of local people in Dunfermline and took action on this issue.

"People are being taken to the Victoria Hospital, in Kirkcaldy, from Queen Margaret Hospital, adding precious extra minutes on to the amount of time before critically ill patients are seen."

Responding in parliament, Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: "We expect NHS Fife like other health boards to work in partnership with their local planning partners including in the Fife area to look at how they can configure service to meet the needs of the local community, including ways in which services are divided between Victoria Hospital and also Queen Margaret Hospital.

"The member will also be aware that we have made significant investment in Queen Margaret Hospital over recent years.

"We put in a state of the art surgical and diagnostic service provision, new minor injuries unit, we've also created a new community and child service centre there and the provision of a comprehensive ante-natal and post-natal care service for the local community.

"No doubt NHS Fife will want to continue to review services going forward to make sure they meet the needs of the local community."

Ms McCall said the minor injuries unit was not "fit for purpose" as it closes at 10pm and does not offer paediatric services.