Sir Lewis to lead review of Skye out-of-hours care
THE TERMS of reference for an independent review of outof-hours urgent care and minor injury clinical services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross have been announced.
A small team will be led by Sir Lewis Ritchie OBE FRSE, who chaired the National Review of Primary Care Out-of-Hours Services in 2015 for the Scottish Government and is the James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice at the University of Aberdeen.
The move followed meetings with community representatives, local councillors, the MSP and MP, who continue to express some significant concerns about the service.
NHS Highland’s chairman David Alston, who commissioned the work, said Sir Lewis’ team would look at the current arrangements for urgent care provision in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross in general.
‘I have also asked him to advise, in particular, if the urgent care service is designed and staffed in such a way as to meet the needs of the people of North Skye,’ added Mr Alston.
Sir Lewis’ team will include an out-of-hours urgent care clinical lead; a senior doctor; a senior nurse; and a service manager.
All team members will be drawn from other NHS boards in Scotland that have remote and rural challenges, and will also include representatives from the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24.
A report on the findings, together with any recommendations, is expected to be produced by the end of April.
NHS Highland says it will then consider the report and take any appropriate action including reporting through the Highland Health and Social Care Partnership.
However, the team will not be considering the wider redesign of health and social care services for communities of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross that is currently under way.
That redesign work already has Scottish Government ministerial approval and is currently going through approval process for the outline business case which incorporates a new-build hospital ‘hub’ facility in Broadford and ‘spoke’ in Portree as part of wider redesign of service which NHS Highland says will see investment in staff, services and infrastructure to help more people to be independent at home or as close to home as possible.
Skye MSP Kate Forbes has welcomed the news of Sir Lewis’ appointment to lead the review.
Scores of Ms Forbes’ constituents have raised concerns regarding out-of-hours care at Portree Hospital, which have been exacerbated by the recent suspension of services during the Christmas and New Year period.
A public petition at the Scottish Parliament, which calls for an independent review of the entire redesign process, remains live before a cross-party committee.
Ms Forbes said: ‘I am pleased that Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie will be supported by a small team of clinical experts, drawn from other NHS boards who understand rural issues but can take a step back and won’t be aligned to NHS Highland.’
And Skye MP Ian Blackford added: ‘I welcome this review, which will highlight what I, my colleagues and the residents of Skye have been saying for some time – that the north of the island must have sufficient and appropriate health care services in place after the opening of the new Broadford Hospital.
‘The results can only show one thing, that these services are vital to the wellbeing of people in the north of the island and should be secured’.