Chief Officer Report
Argyll and Bute Council · 24 August 2022
Back to Argyll and Bute HSCP Integration Joint Board (IJB) — 24 August 2022 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: 24 August 2022 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 the new format of my Chief Officer’s Report which has been updated to more fully reflect the wide range of activity that is taking place both within Argyll and Bute and nationally as well. I hope you find the new style easy to read and the topics included informative and of interest. In this month’s report I have included some updates on the formal launch of our Strategic Plan, Ministerial thanks for the amazing work that staff are doing every day and a report back from the NHS Scotland Event which took place from 21-22 June in Aberdeen. The report also includes some examples of the really good work that our staff are doing day in day out for the people of Argyll and Bute as well as information on some new colleagues who are joining the HSCP. Our staff really are our greatest asset and I would like to thank them all for everything they are doing every day for their local communities. Finally, there is also a great deal of work going on nationally across both the health and social care sector and I have included information on a range of topics including the Open with Care Guidelines, the National Review of the Breast Screening Programme and the latest developments on the Scottish Government’s plans for a National Care Service.
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2 HSCP Updates Ministerial thanks - The Chief Officer and Pam Cremin, Deputy Chief Officer, Highland Community, recently met with Kevin Stewart MSP, Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care. The Minister expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to all staff and partners delivering care in complex and difficult circumstances across all systems in Highland and Argyll and Bute. We would like to pass on this feedback to all colleagues and add our own thanks and appreciation for the fantastic work colleagues do every day. Strategic Plan - The HSCP’s Strategic Plan, which was approved by the IJB on 25 May, was formally launched on 30 May. The Plan sets out the Partnership’s strategic direction for the next three years, our priorities and commissioning intentions, our strategic objectives, how we will get there, what we will spend and how we will monitor and measure to ensure that every staff member and every service works towards our vision to support people in Argyll and Bute to lead long, healthy, independent lives. Further information is available online here. NHS Scotland Event 2022 - The annual NHS Scotland Event took place from 21-22 June in Aberdeen and was the first time it had been held in person since 2019. The title of the event this year was Pandemic Recovery and Reform for the Future. The HSCP was well represented at the event with the Chief Officer speaking at a plenary session on the National Care Service as well as participating in the judging of posters which were submitted by staff across Scotland highlighting aspects of work they were undertaking. The HSCP’s Head of Strategic Planning, Stephen Whiston, also attended the event and presented an ‘Experience Day’ visit at Aberdeen Airport where delegates could see first-hand how drone technology has the potential to positively contribute to the delivery of person centred care, tackle health inequalities and contribute to our climate change ambitions. Delegates were able to watch a live flight demonstration and Stephen explained the work that has been taking place in Argyll and Bute in relation to drone technology. AHP Fellowship - Linda Currie, Associate AHP Director, has been successful in being awarded a NES National AHP Fellowship to progress NHS Highland wide work to implement the Health & Care Staffing Act involving workforce establishment setting across the professions. Carers Week - This year Carers Week took place from 7 – 13 June and is part of the annual campaign to raise awareness of the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and their communities. We would like to thank all unpaid carers for the work they do within their own communities. Our appreciation also goes to the Carers’ Services for the work of their teams in each locality. Change to Senior Management Responsibilities within Adult Care Across Argyll and Bute, Adult Care is provided via a wide range of NHS and Local Authority services. These services are delivered collaboratively by a range of
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3 health and social care professionals functioning in teams that are managed and supported by two Heads of Service. Heads of Service have functioned as Head of Adult Care for Older People and Community Hospitals and Head of Adult Care for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Lifelong Conditions. Given the breadth of Adult Care services, the ongoing need for transformational change to ensure services are evidence based and contemporary, and our commitment to deliver on the HSCP’s Strategic Plan for the people of Argyll and Bute there has been a recent review of the Head of Service portfolios. The outcome of the review is that:- Heads of Service will now be titled o Head of Health and Community Care – Caroline Cherry o Head of Acute and Complex Care – Jillian Torrens Dementia Services and the Rural General Hospital have moved across to Acute and Complex Care Services Service Updates The HSCP was informed in the middle of May by the owners of Lochside Care Home in Helensburgh that they were planning to close the home. There were 27 residents in the home at the time. We worked very closely with the residents and their families and by the second week in June all of the residents had been found alternative accommodation. Thanks go to the staff and local teams in Helensburgh for progressing this work so quickly and ensuring the best outcome for residents and their families. It has also shown great partnership working across health and social care, the care home, procurement and the Care Inspectorate. Operational Challenges Lorn & Islands Hospital Medical Deanery Report A report was published on the 27 July 2022 by the Medical Deanery (who oversee trainee doctors) on behalf of NHS Education for Scotland. This report relates to a visit carried out by representatives from the Deanery to Lorn & Islands hospital on 17 May 2022. A copy of the report is available here. The HSCP would like to thank NHS Education for Scotland for the report they produced following their recent visit to Lorn & Islands hospital and we accept their findings in full. Difficulties in recruiting trained clinical staff, especially consultants, has undoubtedly led to significant additional pressures on the clinical teams working within the hospital and the training and peer support available for junior clinical staff
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4 has not been as robust as we would have liked. We would also like to thank those colleagues who raised concerns about these issues. An action plan has been put in place to implement the recommendations listed in the report and this plan has been shared with NHS Education for Scotland. The recruitment issues we face as an organisation are shared by other Health Boards and we are actively looking into using more innovative methods of marketing and promoting NHS Highland as an attractive place to work. One element of this has been the launch of the Aim High Aim Highland recruitment campaign and we are hopeful that this will help us in the recruitment of key staff. We have a great team at Lorn & Islands hospital and we recognise that the last couple of years have been an extremely difficult and challenging time for them and we would like to thank them, and all our colleagues across the HSCP, for the work they are doing for their local communities every day of the week. Recruitment Like many other HSCPs across the country Argyll and Bute is facing significant recruitment challenges and we are continuing to be more innovative in our marketing of the HSCP as a great place to live and work. We are working with colleagues at Lorn & Islands Hospital in Oban to produce a video with staff discussing why they like working in Argyll and Bute and the benefits of living in a rural area with the wide range of leisure activities that are on our doorstep. A Facebook page has also been created to help with the promotion of care at home and care home vacancies in Argyll and Bute and you can view it here. NHS Highland has also launched the ‘Aim High, Aim Highland’ recruitment campaign to encourage people to come and work in the Highlands and Argyll and Bute. This campaign is currently being promoted on the Underground in London and on buses across the central belt, as well as across our usual channels including social media. Adult Social Work Social work pressures within adult services have been building for some time and there is a short life group to meet these challenges. On the 17 June an Adult Support and Protection central team was established to screen and investigate adult protection concerns to provide a more consistent and timely response. This is welcomed by social work staff and will be a test of change for service redesign.
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5 National Updates New National Targets to Tackle Long Waits for Planned Care New targets have been set out for NHS Scotland to address the impact of the pandemic on long waiting times for planned care. The Health Secretary has also announced that NHS Scotland will aim to eradicate waits of more than two years, and then one year in most specialities by September 2024. Further information is available here. National Care Service The Scottish Government lodged a Bill in Parliament on 21 June 2022 in relation to their plans for a National Care Service (NCS) for Scotland. The Bill provides for the Scottish Government to become accountable for the delivery of adult social care and social work, in addition to their accountabilities for the NHS. It also includes powers to consult on including children and justice services. The Bill introduces the setting up of Local Care Boards to plan, commission and deliver services for their local area. Health services will continue to be delivered by the NHS in partnership, as commissioned by the Care Board. The Bill process will last at least a year and no change is expected before 2026. A lot more detail needs to be decided in that time, and we understand that there will be opportunities for people who deliver and use services to get involved in designing the NCS. We realise that this announcement will bring uncertainty at what is already a difficult time for many social work and social care services and we will continue to share updates whenever we receive them. Further details of the Bill are available on the Scottish Government website here. Open With Care Guidelines New guidance reinforcing the expectation that people in adult care homes should be able to see their friends and family without restrictions has been published. The refreshed Open with Care guidelines say that people in care homes should be able to see their friends and family without restrictions such as limits on how often visits can take place or on how many different visitors a person can have. Further information is available here. Review of Breast Screening Programme A major review of Scotland’s breast screening programme which makes 17 recommendations to strengthen and improve it has been published. The report recommends ways to make the breast screening programme more accessible, resilient and sustainable, to drive improvements and build upon successful delivery of services. The full report is available here.
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6 Good News Helensburgh Reablement Team Sarah Taylor and Sandie Shaw are both part of the Reablement Team supporting patients in Helensburgh and Lomond. Sarah is a Reablement Occupational Therapist and Sandie is part of the Reablement Support Team, they’ve been working for the HSCP for 18 months after starting within a few weeks of each other. Reablement is an Occupational Therapy led service across Argyll and Bute, providing wide ranging support options to patients within the community and at their homes. It’s designed to help patients gain or regain their confidence and necessary skills to live independently after an illness, deterioration in health or injury. Support is usually provided for up to 6-8 weeks and is tailored to individual needs. Working together alongside patients and their families, the service aims to provide effective intervention for patients receiving reablement within the community. The team in Helensburgh includes occupational therapists, physiotherapists and health care support workers, and is supported by community nurses and social workers. You can find out more here. Struan Lodge Struan Lodge Care Home for older people was inspected by the Care Inspectorate in June 2022 and we are delighted to note that it received Grades of 5 (very good) across supporting well-being and leadership. All credit to all the hard work of the staff. Reducing the Carbon Footprint of the HSCP Commercial Fleet The HSCP has been awarded £494,000 from Transport Scotland to install 30 additional electric vehicle charge points in 9 of our hospital sites and replace some of our diesel vans by March 2023. This important increase in our electrical infrastructure will allow the HSCP to replace a further 40 vehicles with electric ones as we move towards achieving the target of net zero CO2 emissions by 2025. Long Covid Service NHS Highland is working closely with the Scottish Government Long Covid team and is in the final stages of planning to launch a board wide Long Covid service in the next few weeks. We are currently recruiting OT and Physiotherapy staff to support rehabilitation and are the first board in Scotland to adopt the C19-York Rehab Scale App which will assist triage and self-management.
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7 New Colleagues Assistant Clinical Dental Director We are delighted to announce that Gillian Rees has been appointed to the post of Assistant Clinical Dental Director to lead the Argyll and Bute Public Dental Service. Gillian will start in her new role at the beginning of August and we look forward to welcoming her to the Argyll and Bute team. New Trainee Health Psychologist Giulia Spaltro is thrilled to be Argyll and Bute’s first ever Trainee Health Psychologist. Her role is funded by NHS Education for Scotland and the HSCP for two years. Health Psychologists aim to understand patient’s changing thoughts, emotions and behaviour related to health, illness and healthcare and they work in a variety of settings such as working directly with patients or groups, supporting other staff and providing support for awareness campaigns. Giulia will be working jointly between the Public Health and Dietetics teams and in her role she will focus mainly on weight management and Type 2 Diabetes management and prevention.