Improvements have been seen in patient safety and quality of care in NHS Lanarkshire, according to Health Secretary Alex Neil.

Speaking as he appeared at the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee today (Tuesday), Mr Neil said that positive changes have been made.

NHS Lanarkshire was asked to make improvements as a result of an assessment of patient safety and the quality of care last year, and an expert Governance and Improvement Support Team was set up in December 2013 to help NHS Lanarkshire make improvements

The Health Secretary has now received the March progress report from NHS Lanarkshire, documenting the progress that has been made, with support from the Governance and Improvement Support Team.

However, Mr Neil also acknowledged that there were still some areas where further work still needs to be done, and that further support will be provided to assist NHS Lanarkshire in these areas.

Speaking at the Health and Sport Committee, Mr Neil said:

“I welcome the progress which has been made by NHS Lanarkshire, and the positive improvements that have been seen as a result.

“It is clear that staff at NHS Lanarkshire at all levels have put in a significant amount of commitment and energy into making changes, and it is essential that this momentum and leadership focus is maintained moving forward.

“I am pleased that the focus on patient safety and quality of care has increased significantly in recent months, and I am reassured that this focus will continue.

“In particular, the creation of a dedicated patient safety team, led by an experienced Head of Patient Safety, is helping to embed patient safety throughout the organisation.

“I am also reassured that NHS Lanarkshire is building on the record staffing levels it already has by recruiting additional permanent nursing staff, and that an additional £3.1 million is being invested in acute nursing services.

“NHS Lanarkshire has also shown a renewed emphasis on obtaining and acting upon patient experience information. There is no better source of knowledge to help us continually improve and NHS Lanarkshire is now actively engaging with and promoting the use of feedback website Patient Opinion.

“However, there are still some areas where the initial work done needs further development and bedding in, particularly around simplifying governance structures, in providing support to the new acute management team, and ensuring that board members can appropriately challenge and scrutinise the quality and safety of care.

“I have made it clear to NHS Lanarkshire that I expect to see further progress in these areas, and the Governance and Improvement Support Team will continue to offer support to help the health board make this progress.

“It is important to remember that there are many examples of positive experiences alongside negative ones and we should not lose sight of the commitment and dedication of staff across NHS Lanarkshire and the whole of our health service.”

NHS Scotland Clinical Director Prof Jason Leitch, who commissioned the original review following the publication of mortality data in NHS Lanarkshire, added:

“We have received regular monthly progress reports in both January and February, and we have been very clear that we expected NHS Lanarkshire to have made significant progress on the recommendations made by Healthcare Improvement Scotland by March.

“This report shows considerable improvement and this progress reflects our absolute commitment to shine a light on areas where our NHS does not live up to the standards we expect.

“We will work closely with NHS Lanarkshire to ensure they can build on the changes they have already made, and will ensure that, where necessary, appropriate support is provided to NHS Lanarkshire to help make these improvements.”