NHS Forth Valley chiefs have published a wide-ranging plan to instigate major reforms after the Scottish Government took on direct oversight of the authority last year.
Following the health board’s escalation to Stage Four of the NHS Scotland Performance Escalation Framework on November 23, an Escalation Improvement Plan was published to drive forward a wide range of changes across the organisation.
The plan sets out initial actions to strengthen leadership, governance and culture and improve performance in a number of service areas.
These include unscheduled care, GP out-of-hours services, Psychological Therapies and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
These actions are centred on three key principles:
●Putting patients first – everyone who uses the services should expect to receive consistently high standards of care and treatment.
●Supporting staff – by ensuring that they have the right working conditions and resources to support their own wellbeing and deliver the best care and services possible.
● Working in partnership – building and sustaining a culture of collaboration with partners based on trust and respect, learning, and sharing of best practice.
The plan was published on December 19 and an update on progress around its delivery was presented at the NHS Forth Valley Board meeting last Tuesday.
Cathie Cowan, chief executive of NHS Forth Valley, said: “Good progress has been made over the last two months across a number of areas.
“This includes the introduction of care and comforts rounds in our Emergency Department and acute assessment units and a significant reduction in the number of contingency beds in use across our local hospitals.
“There have also been improvements in performance across a number of services, however we recognise that there is still much more to do and we remain committed to making the changes necessary to improve the experience of our patients and staff.
“I would like to thank staff, colleagues in primary care and partners for their ongoing commitment to delivering high quality care and services, despite the many challenges facing our health and care system.”
The Escalation Improvement Plan will continue to develop and evolve, informed by feedback from local patients, staff and partners. Feedback is being captured in a number of different ways including staff and patient surveys.
Focused work is also being carried out with NHS Forth Valley’s Public Participation Group to take forward changes and improvements at Forth Valley Royal Hospital over the next three months.
An initial meeting has been arranged on Tuesday, February 21.
