Skye outof-hours urgent care review begins

THE EXTERNAL view of outof-hours urgent care services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross was due to begin on Monday February 26, with Sir Lewis Ritchie spending four days visiting the area as part of an independent examination of local services provided by NHS Highland.

The visit follows an initial series of introductory meetings held in early February in Portree and Broadford with local community representatives, clinicians and managers.

Sir Lewis has been commissioned to carry out the work by NHS Highland chairman, David Alston, after significant concerns about the service were raised with him by local elected representatives and some members of the community.

A series of meetings were proposed during Sir Lewis’s visit. This included offering to meet representatives from the SOS-NHS action group; elected members, representatives from community councils of North Skye, Glenelg, Raasay, South Skye and Lochalsh; and key relevant NHS Highland partner agencies, including Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), NHS 24, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and the Coastguard.

Sir Lewis is also meeting a range of NHS staff providing health and social care across the area including GPs and hospitalbased staff.

Commenting ahead of his visit, Sir Lewis said he was keen to meet as many people as possible.

‘I have invited local councillors to kindly assist me to identify people who they feel it would be helpful for me to meet or speak with,’ he said.

‘I would also invite any individuals or groups to get in touch with me to share their views. They can email me at skye. outofhours@nhs.net to or write to me c/o Maimie Thompson, Head of Public Relations and Engagement, NHS Highland, Assynt House, Inverness, IV2 3BW.

‘While it may not be possible to meet everyone, I will endeavour to ensure there are mechanisms in place for people to have their views heard.

‘Alongside this, my colleagues and I are reviewing a range of information, reports and data. This is to help to understand in detail, urgent local health and social care provision in the area.’

Sir Lewis, who chaired the National Review of Primary Care Out-of-Hours Services in 2015 for the Scottish Government, will lead a small team of health professionals drawn from the staff of other NHS boards in Scotland that also may have remote and rural service delivery challenges.

This will include an out-ofhours urgent care clinical lead; a senior doctor; a senior nurse; a service manager; and representatives from SAS and NHS 24.

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