Scotland’s public health minister has said that he is “encouraged” that NHS staff in Fife are ready to take on challenges that will be faced by the service over the next 12 months.
Michael Matheson heaped praise on employees throughout Fife’s healthcare sector and said that it was up to the NHS Fife board to support its workers as new practices are implemented.
He spoke after the health board held its annual review at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital following what has been a challenging year for the authority.
However, insistent that there are encouraging signs, particularly in accident and emergency services, Mr Matheson highlighted the work of frontline staff and the role they have played, and will continue to play, in improving performance.
“The health service is our health service,” he told The Courier.
“It doesn’t belong to any government at any time or any particular health board and it is in all of our interests to get it right.
“The board recognise the challenges they have got and they are prepared to take them forward and meet them. I am encouraged from what I’ve heard from the staff today.
“Meeting with them in different wards across departments and looking at how they’re performing, it is clear that there is a strong commitment to do that. What we need to do is make sure that the board have measures in place to support the staff to do that effectively on a consistent basis.”
The buzz word at the review, hosted by health board chairman Allan Burns, was “communication”.
It follows a year of revelations from both staff and patients about the quality of care in Fife, many centering on Victoria Hospital which opened nearly two years ago.
Warning that the Scottish Government would be keeping a close eye on Fife’s health board, Mr Matheson continued: “It is extremely important that the board work proactively in communicating with patients and patient groups effectively so that they are given the right information at the right time.
“Some of the concern I’ve heard from individual patients are about length of notice for appointments, in some cases being too short.
“We would like the board to improve the way they communicate with patients. Equally important is how they engage with local stakeholders when taking forward changes.
“What I expect the board to do is have robust public consultation measures in place and the Government expect them to make sure they are fully utilised when consulting the local community when planning to change services.”
Speaking at his first annual review as chairman, Allan Burns told The Courier that the NHS Fife board was prepared to build bridges with both the public and staff in an effort to improve healthcare in the region.
Acknowledging previous problems in communication, he said: “It is quite challenging with integration as we are still trying to get our head around what that may look like.
“Therefore, the ability to tell people what is happening is challenging. I think they are right to feel concerned and we need to help that process.
“There is a lot of work going on in communication and we need to invest in that. Morale is improving (but) this is a long-term thing.
“If you come back here in two or three years you’ll see a huge difference,” he went on.
“Patients will notice a difference in the way they are welcomed and how fast problems are resolved.
“We will have a much more consistent approach to caring, from medical to our porters, so the experience will be much different across all of the NHS board.
“This is a big opportunity to build a trusting relationship.”