Scottish Government
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NHS Grampian reviews published
Urgent improvement required by local health board.
NHS Grampian must fulfil its commitment to making “urgent improvements across a range of areas”, Shona Robison said yesterday.
Responding to reports into the quality of care at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI), the Health Secretary said it is crucial that new leadership at the board take forward the recommendations urgently.
While the reports show that patient outcomes in NHS Grampian are in line with other boards, they highlight pockets of poor practice and serious failings that must be addressed quickly – in particular a lack of leadership and an unacceptable breakdown in the relations between management and clinical staff.
Ms Robison visited the ARI yesterday to view improvements NHS Grampian has already made and meet new interim chief executive Malcolm Wright, who took up post recently.
During the visit, Ms Robison discussed the board’s action plan to make immediate changes to address the issues outlined by the reports.
The plan includes a further boost to nursing numbers in 2015/16, with 30 new posts to be created through the extra £17 million NRAC funding provided by the Scottish Government to bring the health board’s finance in line with others. This adds to the 200 nursing posts already created by NHS Grampian since 2013 and will be followed by a further £14.5 million in 2016/17 to ensure the rise in nursing staff levels continues.
Ms Robison said:
“While it is important to note that the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Report finds that care delivered at the ARI is safe, there are clear failings highlighted that are simply not acceptable in our NHS.
“Not least of these is a failure of leadership, a breakdown of relations with clinicians and the resulting pressures this has placed on frontline staff.
“The Scottish Government acted swiftly in response to concerns raised by staff at NHS Grampian - sending in a team from Healthcare Improvement Scotland to explore the concerns within one week. This resulted in the publication of today’s report – demonstrating our absolute commitment to shining a light on poor practice where ever it exists in our NHS.
“I am encouraged that NHS Grampian, under its new leadership, is already taking steps to address these issues through its action plan, which is a strong basis to move forward.
“I would also like to thank the many frontline staff, who have shown remarkable dedication and commitment by going over and above for their patients despite these issues.
“The improvements are not only about the creation of additional nurses, but it is about working with the clinical staff to address poor practice and unacceptable behaviour that has happened in NHS Grampian for too long.
“I have already spoken to the new interim chief executive of the board and will meet him again today.
“Let me be clear – I expect NHS Grampian to act quickly on the findings of this report and implement significant, wide ranging and sustainable improvements.
“The Scottish Government will support this, in particular through our ongoing efforts to address the issue of funding for NHS Grampian relative to other boards, which we are tackling for the first time. We have already provided significant extra funds, as the boards share of national NHS funding has increased from 9.1 per cent to 9.6 per cent under this government, and will invest another £17 million next year.
“I have asked the board for detailed monthly updates so that I can closely monitor their performance and ensure comprehensive action is being taken.”
The review of care at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was commissioned by the board and undertaken by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), has resulted in 13 recommendations for improvement by the health board.
Notes To Editors
Background
The reports include a review of services at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and care for older people. Also published yesterday was the recommendations from a review by the Royal College of Surgeons.
The reports can be found at:
Improvement Programme 2014/15 - Immediate Action Plan (December 2014) (pdf)
Information about the review is also available at www.nhsgrampian.org/HISReview
