NHS Forth Valley: Scottish Government steps in to take control of health board

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf made the announcement in the Scottish Parliament this evening. He told MSPs that NHS Forth Valley has been escalated to stage four of NHS Scotland’s National Performance Framework for governance, leadership and culture. This follows concerns that the health board’s leadership has failed to improve performance in a number of key areas.

The Scottish Government will oversee the development and delivery of NHS Forth Valley’s improvement plan to address concerns in out of hours and unscheduled care.

Mr Yousaf said: “Staff in NHS Forth Valley continue to work tirelessly to deliver the high quality care we expect. However, there are continuing concerns about the ability of the leadership to effectively respond to issues when raised.

“We have been engaging with NHS Forth Valley for some time on a range of performance-related issues, including concerns around GP out-of-hours services and unscheduled care. The common barrier to improvement in these areas is governance, leadership and culture. Escalation to stage four will bring direct oversight from the Scottish Government and we will work with Forth Valley to ensure immediate improvement. Significant work is already under way to address the legitimate concerns raised and I will update Parliament as progress is made.”

Last month, the emergency department at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert recorded its worst ever waiting time performance, with only 38 per cent of patients seen, discharged or admitted within the four-hour target. Latest figures issued this week show that had risen to 51.8 per cent but was well below the Scottish average of 65.3 per cent.

The health minister added there were concerns about the NHS Forth Valley’s failure to deliver improvements following inspections by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). Its latest report is due be published within weeks following a recent unannounced “safe delivery of care” inspection.

When a health board is moved to stage four it is due to “significant risks to delivery, quality, financial performance or safety, senior level external support required”. NHS Forth Valley is the only health board in the country currently at this level, although five others are at stage three.

Mr Yousaf said an assurance board had been set up with senior NHS managers brought in to work alongside local management.

Tonight, a spokesperson for NHS Forth Valley said: “We welcome the additional support being provided and are committed to working closely with the Scottish Government to deliver any changes or improvements recommended by the assurance board.”

Commenting on the latest special measures being applied to Forth Valley health board a spokesperson for UNISON Scotland said: “UNISON will of course cooperate fully and work constructively with the transformation team put in place by the Scottish Government. We will though be making clear to them that no improvement plan will solve the fundamental issues faced by patients and staff if it does not tackle the recruitment and staffing crisis we face.

“It is all very well for the Secretary of State to talk about holding managers feet to the fire – but that is the sort of management culture we need to get away from. He would do well to consider how that attitude will impact on staff throughout the board who are already under immense pressure. Whatever issues there may exist with leadership and culture, tackling them will not deal with the fundamental issues of having too few staff to meet targets.”