NHS Forth Valley: Health secretary Michael Matheson says improvements since board placed in special measures - but more to be done

The minister, whose Falkirk West constituency is within the health board area, said he has had “regular contact” with officials since his predecessor as health secretary, Humza Yousaf, escalated it to level four of the NHS Scotland Performance Framework in November last year. This followed concerns about long waiting times in A&E and GP out of hours services in particular and a failure to make safety improvements at Forth Valley Royal Hospital following criticism by inspectors.

He was speaking as he visited Pause and Breathe, a social enterprise in High Bonnybridge, where he announced a further £15 million this year for projects to support mental health and address social isolation and loneliness in adults.

Mr Matheson said: “I have been in regular contact with NHS Forth Valley since it was placed in special measures. The most up to date report published a week ago showed they are making steady progress but there is much more to be done.

“I will be meeting with the review team next week and I will be discussing what further action is needed. The support team is working closely with the executive team and this is going to continue to ensure they are making progress. There is more to be done and I want to make sure that continues. The review team will have an opportunity to proof to me what over measures are needed to deliver a level of improvement.”

A letter from Cathie Cowan, NHS Forth Valley chief executive to Christine McLaughlin, chair of the assurance board set up to give the Scottish Government direct oversight of how the board is being run, also indicated that there had been improvements.

She said action has been taken to develop and improve local GP and Primary Care Out-of-Hours services; investment had been made in CAMHS staffing to reduce long waits; and integration of local health and social care services has progressed with the transfer of specialist mental health and learning disabilities, Primary Care and GP out-of-hours services to the two local Health and Social Care Partnerships.

However, Ms Cowan admitted it had been tougher dealing with the number of patients experiencing lengthy waits at the Larbert Hospital. She said: “Although there has been a slight increase in performance in relation to the four hour emergency access standard and a significant reduction in the number of 12 hour waits, performance remains variable due to capacity pressures across the wider health and care system and continuing high numbers of local patients experiencing delays in being transferred or discharged from local hospitals.”

She concluded: “Local staff working across acute, community and primary care services deserve thanks and recognition for their ongoing hard work and commitment to delivering high standards of patient care and treatment, often in very challenging circumstances.

“In summary, good progress has been made over the last few months and work continues to take forward the changes and improvements required in response to escalation.”