Health boards in specific need of intervention

NHS: Five struggling Scottish boards escalated to ‘Stage 3 or above’

NHS Tayside is one of more than a third of health boards in Scotland which need intervention after dropping below expected standards, MSPs have been told.

In a letter to the health committee at Holyrood, NHS Scotland chief executive Paul Gray said five health boards have been escalated to “Stage 3 or above” on the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework – meaning they need specific interventions.

The framework, graded on a scale of one to five, outlines the level at which a board is effectively operating.

NHS Tayside is currently the only board at Stage 5, the level at which it was placed in April.

Stage 1 means it is at a “steady state”, and is the level at which boards are expected to remain.

Stage 5 means a board is in the most serious stages of difficulty with “an organisational structure or configuration which is unable to deliver effective care”.

Two boards, NHS Highland and NHS Borders, are at Stage 4.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Forth Valley are both at Stage 3.

Boards are allocated a Stage 3 classification due to “significant variation from plan; risks materialising; tailored support required”. Stage 4 is defined as “significant risks to delivery, quality, financial performance or safety; senior level external support required”.

It requires a transformation team which reports directly to the directorgeneral and chief executive of NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Conservatives accused the SNP of “woeful mismanagement” of the NHS in Scotland.

Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said: “Over a third of Scottish health boards are now regarded as being in significant trouble, deviating from their own plans and in need of support. This shows that five Scottish health boards are officially on the brink of financial crisis.

“After 11 years of the SNP mismanaging our health service we now have over a third of our health boards unable to operate properly or meet the needs of their communities.

“Indeed, SNP financial mismanagement of our Scottish NHS has seen SNP ministers forced to write off £150 million of NHS debt.

“Yet again the SNP has shown that it cannot continue to be trusted with our health service.”

NHS Tayside declined to comment on the matter yesterday when given the opportunity to do so.

Picture: Andrew Cawley. Paul Gray, chief executive of NHS Scotland.