Chief Officer Report
Argyll and Bute Council · 29 November 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute HSCP Integration Joint Board (IJB) — 29 November 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 Integration Joint Board Agenda item: Date of Meeting: 29 November 2023 Title of Report: Chief Officer Report Presented by: Fiona Davies, Chief Officer The Integration Joint Board is asked to: Note the following report from the Chief Officer Introduction I would like to welcome you to my Chief Officer Report for November 2023 and as usual I would be delighted to receive feedback on the report and how we can develop it further to ensure that it continues to reflect the work that is taking place across the organisation. In this month’s report I have highlighted the Cowal GP Relocation Project which will lead to two of the GP Practices in Dunoon moving to a new fit for purpose building at the Cowal Community Hospital site in the town. There will also be significant investment in the project, both from the Scottish Government and the HSCP. The Project Team have already held the first in a series of community events to provide an opportunity for the public, partners and stakeholders to have their say and find out more about our plans. As many of you will be aware we experienced extremely challenging weather conditions in Argyll and Bute at the beginning of October and this also led to major disruptions on our road network as well. We worked effectively with our statutory and voluntary partners to deliver the overall response. I would like to also thank HSCP staff who really pulled out all the stops to support their local communities and who ensured that we continued to provide health and social care services to those individuals who needed them. The Scottish Health Awards were held at the beginning of November and I know that there were a good number of nominations from Argyll and Bute. I was delighted to see that two of our colleagues were shortlisted for an award and my congratulations go to Fiona Cruickshanks from Easdale Medical Practice for winning the Nurse Award and to Julie Walker from Tobermory Pharmacy who was shortlisted and just missed out on winning the People’s Choice Award.
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2 Congratulations also go to the HSCP’s health visiting and midwifery teams who have been recognised for the fourth time with the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) UK Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Award. This award really reflects the amazing work that they do for our local communities across Argyll and Bute. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Bert Donald, NHS Highland Non-Executive Director, and Whistleblowing Champion, to Lochgilphead and Oban earlier this month. Bert visited a number of sites across both localities and met with local teams and individual members of staff. Finally, and as usual, I have also included some of the key updates announced by the Scottish Government, including the passing of the Patient Safety Commissioner Bill, the introduction of Naloxone kits for community pharmacies and additional measures to help address women’s health inequalities. HSCP Updates Cowal GP Relocation Project The Cowal GP Relocation Project will see two local GP practices move to a new, fit for purpose, shared and disability-compliant building at the Cowal Community Hospital site in Dunoon. The Scottish Government have awarded £2.9 million for the project and the HSCP has also pledged a further £1 million for hospital and service investments. It is planned that the project will run from 2024/2025. Due to the nature of the project there will be a need to move some of the existing services within the Community Services Building on the hospital site and the Project Team and local managers have been working with the staff who will be affected, by holding active conversations, listening to the needs of the service and clients, all of which have helped design their new bespoke, environmentally friendly, future- proofed areas. The Project Team also held the first in a series of community events in the Burgh Hall in Dunoon on Tuesday 14 November. This provided an opportunity for the public, partners and other stakeholders to come along and have their say at an interactive drop in session. Representatives from the Project Team were also in attendance to provide more information and answer any questions. Scottish Health Awards The Scottish Health Awards, which are run by the Daily Record in partnership with NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government, took place in Edinburgh on Thursday 2 November. We were delighted that the HSCP colleagues below were shortlisted as finalists for the Awards and congratulations go to Fiona Cruickshanks for winning the Nurse Award and to Julie Walker for being shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award.
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3 Nurse Award Winner Fiona Cruickshanks, Easdale Medical Practice People’s Choice Award Finalist Julie Walker, Pharmacist, Tobermory Pharmacy, Isle of Mull Speak Up Week Colleagues from across the HSCP were encouraged to get involved in Speak Up Week, which took place from 2-6 October 2023, to help promote a positive speak up culture across the organisation. A series of drop-in events were also held across Argyll and Bute in order to raise awareness of the Whistleblowing Standards and the importance of speaking up and the Chief Officer, Heads of Service and senior managers helped support these events. HFMA Scotland Branch Annual Conference The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Scotland Branch Annual Conference took place on the 26-27 October in the Beardsmore Hotel at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank. A number of senior representatives from the HSCP attended the event and the Chief Officer and the Business Improvement Manager also presented an workshop on the current landscape in relation to health and social care services in Argyll and Bute. Whistleblowing Champion Visit Albert Donald, NHS Highland Non-Executive Director, and Whistleblowing Champion visited Lochgilphead on Monday 13 November and Oban on Tuesday 14 November (the Oban visit had originally been planned for 11 October but was rescheduled due to the severe weather and challenging road conditions that were being experienced at that time). Arrangements were put in place with managers locally in Lochgilphead and Oban for Bert to visit areas and drop-in for a chat with teams. There was also the opportunity for staff to meet with Bert on a confidential 1:1 basis. Severe Weather An Amber weather alert was in place from 03:00am on Saturday, 7 October 2023 until 06:00am on Sunday, 8 October 2023, this was issued by the Met Office at 10:51am on Friday 6 October 2023. The HSCP joined with other public sector and voluntary partners in the multi-agency response. This supports the IJB in discharging the public duty as a Category 1
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4 responder. Police Scotland were the overall response lead and the HSCP led the caring for people response. The HSCP leadership team participated and advised over the weekend as part of the multi-agency response meetings and ensured that there was positive and effective communication across the organisation including in relation to staff safety and wellbeing. They also joined the Saturday briefing of the Council’s tactical response. We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the work that took place to help those individuals and communities who were affected by the severe weather across Argyll and Bute. We are also aware that our staff worked extra hours, stayed late on site to ensure service delivery and dealt with stranded people requiring medication and support. It really was an outstanding team effort. Infrastructure Transformation Board The first meeting of the Infrastructure Transformation Board was held on 1 November 2023. The Board will be chaired by the Head of Finance and Transformation, will meet quarterly and will report in to the Transformation Board and the Finance and Policy Committee of the IJB on a regular basis. The purpose of the Infrastructure Transformation Board is to provide a multi- functional forum whereby HSCP service management can consider and oversee infrastructure development plans across the partnership. This will help ensure that there is visibility on key projects, that investment priorities are the right ones and aligned with service planning and delivery strategies. National Care Service Annual National Forum As part of the development of the National Care Service (NCS) the Scottish Government arranged a series of in-person and online forums during 2023. These forums were part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing work to co-design the NCS. An Annual National Forum was also held and took place on 30 October in Glasgow and was attended by the Chief Officer on behalf of the HSCP. Kintyre Recovery Walk On the 30 September over 100 people took part in the Kintyre Recovery Walk which was organised by a range of groups including the HSCP, The Scottish Recovery Forum, the WithYou charity and a range of other local groups and individuals. Recovery Walks take place across the country in September and provide an opportunity to bring people together locally to celebrate recovery, raise awareness of the stigma that many people with addictions are facing and to highlight the fact that these individuals are valued members of the local community who are doing the best to get on with their lives just like everyone else. The Kintyre event started with a service on Dalintober beach in memory of those people we have lost to drug and alcohol addiction. There was also live music, open
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5 water swimming in Campbeltown Loch for a number of brave souls and also a commemorative walk through the town. Service Updates Winter Planning The HSCP’s Winter Plan, which spans the period from 30 November 2023 to 1 April 2024, will be presented to the IJB this month. It highlights specific elements of planning and is intended to both guide workstreams and provide for assurance for relevant Boards. The plan is a whole system health and social care plan, recognising the interdependencies of the system to meet the needs of the local population. It is an annual national planning requirement and provides assurance that the system and partners have the necessary measures in place to deliver health and care for the local population during winter months. National Updates Addressing Women’s Health Inequalities Measures to support women experiencing difficult menopause or menstrual health symptoms in the workplace are being introduced by NHS Scotland across their workforce. As one of the medium term actions in the Women’s Health Plan, the policy reflects recommendations from a study of NHS employees by Professor Kathleen Riach, supported by the Scottish Government. The new policy aims to create an environment where women feel confident in raising health issues so solutions can be put in place. Further information is available here. Lifesaving Overdose-Reversal Scheme Access to potentially life-saving naloxone kits, which reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, is being expanded to community pharmacies across Scotland. All community pharmacies will now hold at least two naloxone kits - either a nasal spray or injectable. Further information is available here. £100 Million to Reduce Waiting Times New annual funding of £100 million to help reduce inpatient and day-case waiting lists by an estimated 100,000 patients over three years has been announced by the First Minister. Subject to the outcome of the Scottish Budget process, the recurring annual revenue investment will run to the end of this Parliamentary session and help inform NHS Boards’ multi-year planning to create capacity and accelerate treatment for patients. Further information is available here.
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6 Healthcare Awareness Campaign Launched An awareness campaign has been to launched to make sure people know the best place to go for healthcare over the winter. Right Care Right Place has been rolled out earlier than in previous years to help Scots know which health setting is best for their medical concerns, and in turn to help alleviate pressures on the NHS and social care ahead of an expected increase in demand. The campaign, featuring targeted advertising on television, radio and online, tells people how to access the most appropriate care for their physical or mental health needs. Further information is available here. Independent Review of Social Care Scrutiny An independent review is recommending wider regulation of social care staff to better protect and help people receiving social care and support. The Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation in Scotland makes 38 recommendations including updating legislation, Health and Social Care Standards and the powers of intervention and enforcement that regulatory bodies have. It also highlights a need for the system to rebalance, increasing the focus on continuous improvement and being more inclusive of the voices of those who receive social care support. Further information is available here. Good News Argyll and Bute health visitors achieve UK Baby Friendly Gold Award The excellent support given to children and parents across Argyll and Bute has been recognised once again, with the HSCP health visiting and midwifery services receiving a prestigious award for the fourth time. The UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) UK Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Award celebrates excellent and sustained practice in the support of infant feeding and parent-infant relationships. The gold award is the highest standard for services that are accredited as Baby Friendly by UNICEF UK. To be awarded gold status the services go through a validation process each year and they have to submit a wide range of evidence to ensure they are delivering an exemplary standard of support, guidance and services. To receive the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Award reflects the outstanding work and commitment of our health visitors and midwives across Argyll and Bute communities.
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7 Staffing Updates Clinical Service Manager, Acute, Urgent & Emergency Mental Health We would like to welcome Dev Balluck who recently joined the HSCP as Clinical Service Manager for Acute, Urgent and Emergency Mental Health & Perinatal. Dev’s background is acute inpatient, community and crisis work over a range of areas and one of his main aims in his new role is to continue to build the service by further developing the patient journey through our care system.