NHS Fife thanks staff for good work during harsh winter weather

HEALTH: Tributes paid to those who kept vital services running in storm

Tributes have been paid to the thousands of NHS Fife health and social care staff who kept vital services running during this month’s heavy snowfall.

In praising the response of employees during the storm, Fife’s health board has also hailed the overwhelming success of a new campaign aimed at encouraging staff to get themselves vaccinated against flu amid suggestions other areas across Scotland should follow suit.

Staff in acute and community services worked longer hours, walked considerable distances to get into work, shared 4x4 vehicles to overcome difficult driving conditions and even stayed overnight at hospitals, temporary accommodation or with family and friends to ensure they were available for duty.

Army personnel from Leuchars were also involved in ensuring NHS workers could battle through the snow and ice.

NHS Fife board members put on record their thanks at their monthly meeting in Kirkcaldy, with chair Tricia Marwick expressing her pride and gratitude.

“I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff sincerely for all their efforts to ensure the resilience of services,” she said. “We’ve had a very difficult period but the staff have risen to the challenge and more. I don’t want to single out any specific part of the NHS but for those who walked miles, for those who stayed overnight in hospitals, they have my heartfelt thanks.”

The success of NHS Fife’s Flu Fighters campaign was also highlighted after new figures revealed Fife had met the chief medical officer’s target to vaccinate 50% of frontline staff during the 2017-18 seasonal influenza vaccination programme.

In 2016-17 NHS Fife was the second worst performing health board in Scotland, with only 26.9% of staff taking up the vaccination during that flu season.

The dramatic rise this year has been largely put down to the Flu Fighters communications campaign, which was backed by the likes of Lorraine Kelly.

A total of 111 drop-in vaccination clinics were held across the region, 58 peer vaccinators were recruited to deliver vaccines to colleagues, and a Flu Fighters tour bus visited locations throughout Fife over three days to administer to staff.

Meanwhile, Mrs Marwick also responded to recent media reports concerning NHS Fife acute services’ chief operating officer Professor Scott McLean, who has been suspended pending an investigation into alleged misconduct.

Mr McLean was not mentioned by name during the meeting, but Mrs Marwick said: “It is the position of the board that we will maintain our legal responsibility to protect the privacy of our employees and will therefore not comment on individual staff members past or present.”

I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff sincerely for all their efforts to ensure the resilience of services. TRICIA MARWICK

Health Secretary Shona Robison joins NHS Fife chief executive Paul Hawkins and chairwoman of NHS Fife Tricia Marwick in their Flu Fighters campaign at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.