News
Health Matters A personal view from the chair of NHS Orkney John Ross Scott
23/07/2010 08:32:00
Heading for recovery
Like many other folk, I left last month's health board meeting with a sense of hope that we were heading in the right direction. The assessment of the financial outlook could not have been clearer or foreboding and yet everyone there on the day showed a real sense of ownership as we set out our recovery plans to deliver better health, better care and make better use of our resources.
The messages were tough and the challenge is huge yet the approach we
are taking now seems so right. We intend to invest in front-line staff
to offset the costs of temporary locum and agency staff; service reviews
are either underway or planned to deliver high quality care and service
improvement, and a cost reduction programme is now in place. The move
seems so sensible that many wondered why this road to recovery had not
as yet been travelled. Perhaps, President Obama was right when he said:
"We cannot waste a good crisis by not taking the opportunity to change."
In the current public sector finance squeeze, NHS Orkney seeks to be
more efficient, more effective and more patient-centred. That means
doing things differently, and staff - at a special time out session in
early June -- helped shape our recovery plan so that it protects and
develops front-line patient services in the county.
My own views are mixed, we have as part of our recovery plan, been
moving in the right direction since publishing Our Orkney, Our Health
back in June 2009. It is, however, ironic that just as NHS Orkney gets
its act together in determining our future strategy, implementing our
recovery plan and building up a strong case for new hospital and dental
facilities, the UK slips into recession.
But, ever the optimist, I remain driven by the patients, their carers
and our staff telling us time and time again that they want a GP, a
nurse, a hospital doctor, a dentist, support staff and, dare I say it,
managers that are part of the NHS Orkney team and our communities. As
chairman over the past two and a half years I have worked along with
fellow Board members to deliver what the public want.
Now, for the first time in what seems like a long time, we are
attracting good calibre staff who don't just fly in on a Monday and out
on a Friday but live here, work here and most importantly want to be
here.
To that end, as part of the recovery plan, we are employing more
permanent doctors to reduce our over reliance on locum doctors, this
provides the continuity of care that we all want whether we live on the
Mainland or the Isles. The progress on the Isles is heartening and
people are beginning to see progress and, under the leadership of chief
executive Cathie Cowan, a management style that is about listening and
working with people to deliver change that is proactive and based on
need.
Staying on the theme of change, I am delighted that the dental service
review - currently being undertaken - will begin to shape our
high-quality services in such a way that folk can register and get a
timely appointment so that long waiting times become a thing of the
past. Alongside these improvements we need to think about our
productivity and our ability to demonstrate value for money. So doing
nothing is not an option, change is inevitable and change in the way we
deliver services, how and who delivers services and where we deliver
services from is a key factor underpinning our recovery plan.
The money we spend referring people off island to specialists and
clinical centres across the UK is significant - we believe we can
provide the same and often better care by doing things locally and with
our partner NHS Boards in Grampian and Highlands.
We are keen to review our visiting services to make certain we are using
our resources wisely and that we can demonstrate good value and good
outcomes for patients.
We are committed to supporting folk living at home and will look to
deliver as many services as we can in Orkney while ensuring safety and
effectiveness. We will increase our drugs budget in acknowledgement of
the need to invest in the care of people with long-term conditions, and
we will look to our partners to widen that care continuum that
acknowledges self-care, self-health and local support in the community.
And yes we will drive out inefficiencies in the way we procure, the way we manage our supplies and the way we use our estate.
Hard times or new times - you the people of Orkney will be the judge.
Cathie Cowan and I will continue our programmes of engagement and as a
result reflect your views and opinions into how we improve health,
improve care and use resources going forward.
In summary, recovery plans are generally all about finance and budgets;
our plan is much more than that. It puts the patient at the heart of all
we do, gives power back to our clinicians and managers to do what they
are paid to do, and plays on the clear passion that staff, patients and
the general public have for the NHS and the services we provide here in
Orkney.
As I have said before in this column, change is never easy; no-one likes
change, but, in the Recovery Plan, I now sense more of a can-do
attitude within the service. I am convinced the approach we are taking
is radical, robust and - above all - right.
In moving forward I would like to ask all Orkney folk for their
assistance in helping us reshape your local health service. If there are
areas within NHS Orkney that you feel are wasteful, not benefiting the
public and patients directly or some where you feel savings could be
made, then contact me - in confidence or otherwise.
It is often the case that those closest to health care, in particular
those receiving care, see inefficiencies within the system much clearer.
Never forget that changes in the way we do things can mean change for
the better.
Finally, I cordially invite you all to attend the NHS Orkney 2009/10
Annual Review, undertaken this year by the Scottish Government's health
and sport minister, Shona Robison MSP, in the King Street Halls,
Kirkwall, next Tuesday, July 27 - see press for details.