Weekly news
Released on 08/03/2010
Events Diary
30 March
Managers’ Development Network
West Region Masterclass:
Essentials for Creating Work-Life Balance
10am-1pm, Campanile Hotel, Glasgow
Free cross-regional event, open to all
manager sand prospective managers. Will provide a different perspective on issues such as well-being and stress at a personal level and in the workplace. See flyer for
details.
30 March
Managers’ Development Network
Leading Change: Managers as Change Agents
12.15-2.15pm, Browne House, Dumfries
Free Dumfries & Galloway MDN event: how you can develop your skills as change agents to overcome some common
reactions to change . See flyer for full
details.
22 April
IHM Scotland
Leading great teams
9.30am-4pm, Holiday Inn East Kilbride
Joyce Brown of Balkello Consulting presents a one day workshop looking at critical
aspects of team functioning and giving
guidance in dealing with team conflict. For managers at all levels who wish to take stock of their team’s functioning and plan for improvements. See flyer for details.
This week in Parliament
Wednesday
10:00 Health & Sport Committee
The Committee will continue to take evidence on the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 from a range of witnesses from the alcohol industry, licensed trade and major supermarkets.
Thursday
11:40 General Question Time
Ken Macintosh (Lab, Eastwood): what action is the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing taking to resolve outstanding disputes regarding pay banding under the Agenda for Change.
12:00 First Minister’s Questions
17:00 Members’ Business
Des McNulty (Lab, Strathkelvin & Bearsden): St Margaret of Scotland Hospice - That the Parliament notes with deep concern the decision of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to remove the funding for 30 continuing care beds from the St Margaret of Scotland Hospice in Clydebank by 2013, which will impact adversely on the service model provided by the hospice’s dedicated staff as well as on the hospice’s finances; notes that this decision came immediately after an inspection by the Care Commission that rated provision at the St Margaret of Scotland Hospice as being excellent on every indicator, and believes that the approach adopted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in its dealings with the hospice is unacceptable.
Hepatitis C testing campaign launched
The Scottish Government has launched a campaign to encourage at-risk individuals to come forward for testing for the Hepatitis C virus. The communications campaign will run from today until the end of March, with activities focusing primarily on five health board areas, Grampian, Lanarkshire, Tayside, Lothian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Telephone box and bus stop adverts will be placed within 100 metres of pharmacies and drug treatment centres. Posters have also been issued to every Drug Treatment Centre in Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service. Around 40,000 people are thought to be currently living with chronic hepatitis C infection in Scotland. As many as 60 per cent of these cases are undiagnosed and many of those who have had a positive diagnosis are not in treatment. www.hepcscotland.co.uk.
New waiting system ‘fairer for patients’
A new Audit Scotland report, Managing NHS waiting lists – A review of new arrangements, has concluded that changes made to the system of managing waiting lists since 2008 have made the system fairer for
patients. The report also says that the NHS has
done well in implementing the complex new
arrangements.
However, the report also says that while NHS boards are recording most information required under the new guidance, there remain some gaps in recording data about reviews of patients who are unavailable and about transfers which make it difficult to
demonstrate that they are managing these patients in the right way. Information for patients, and about patients also needs to improve to ensure that the new system operates effectively.
The Auditor General, Robert Black, said:
“Waiting times are very important to patients and the new arrangements have improved the way the NHS manages waiting lists. The NHS now needs to build on this to make sure that the new arrangements work well for everyone.
“Patients have responsibilities to attend for appointments. Under the new guidance patients who fail to attend may be taken off the waiting list and referred back to their GP and it’s crucial that the NHS tells patients this. The NHS also needs to give people enough notice of appointments and make sure that they get information about their appointment in a way they can understand so that they are in a good position to be able to attend.”
The report recommends that NHS boards should also continue to work with primary care to improve communication with patients so that both primary care staff and patients are clear about their responsibilities under the new system, particularly the implications for patients of not attending their appointments. It also suggests that the Scottish Government and ISD Scotland should consider issuing additional guidance about the treatment of patients who do not or cannot attend appointments to make sure that patients are managed fairly across Scotland, while still allowing for clinical judgement.
The report contains a checklist to help managers ensure that they are operating waiting lists effectively and appropriately.
www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/work/health_national.php
IT services ‘failing patients’, claims Committee report
The Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee has published the report of its short inquiry into telehealth and clinical
portals. The report argues that safeguarding of patient privacy, timescales and continuity for the national rollout of telehealth schemes and tackling resistance from medical staff in using technology are major issues which must be given immediate attention by the Scottish Government.
The report also criticises what it calls the slow and inconsistent provision of clinical
portals and telehealth over the decade in Scotland.
Committee Convener Christine Grahame MSP said: “If used effectively and efficiently,
technology such as clinical portals and
telehealth could make a huge difference to the quality of care and treatment patients receive across Scotland.
"It also has the potential to release much-needed resources in these economically
difficult time for front-line patient services.
"However, our Committee report reveals that the Scottish Government has some serious work to do in encouraging health boards to use and evaluate this technology. We hope the Government will act on our
recommendations regarding patient rights, professional standards, funding and staff training by 2014 at the latest.”
The Committee’s recommendations include:
· value for money being placed at the heart of any NHS telehealth strategy
· patients, midwives, nurses and other health representatives must be on the Clinical Portal Programme Board designed to oversee clinical portal projects in Scotland
· establishing an eHealth professional standards group including clinicians, medical bodies, teaching and trainers
www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/hs/reports-10/her10-03.htm
