Public to have say on hospital improvements
Forth Valley residents are being invited to take part
Patients and members of the public across Forth Valley are being invited to have their say on any changes and improvements they would like to see at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
A Public Participation Group is meeting over the next three months to share feedback, suggestions and ideas which will help inform local plans and priorities.
The work is being taken forward as part of wider plans to respond to the board’s escalation to Stage 4 of the NHS Scotland Performance Escalation Framework and address the recommendations from the recent Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) inspection report on Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
The first meeting of the Public Participation Group took place in the acute hospital, in Larbert, earlier this week.
Anyone who wants to attend the group or find out more about how they can get involved in the process should email fv.fvquality@nhs.scot.
Discussions are being led by NHS Forth Valley’s Quality Improvement Team who say they are keen to work with local people across the area to discuss initial improvement plans and identify any gaps or further changes they would like to see.
The team is encouraging anyone who is interested in sharing feedback or suggestions to get in touch as this can be captured in a range of ways.
NHS Forth Valley’s Executive Nurse Director, Prof Frances Dodd, said: “It’s important that we work closely with local patients and the public so that they have a say in how healthcare is delivered and the opportunity to identify any changes they would like to see.
“This will help inform local plans and ensure the actions we take meet the needs of local people.”
NHS Forth Valley’s Quality and Patient Safety Lead, Morven Dunn, added: “We would like to hear from a wide and diverse range of individuals from all areas and communities, particularly those who often feel they don’t have a voice or are not heard.”
In December, NHS Forth Valley’s top executive apologised after the damning inspection report found “serious concerns” about the level of care being delivered at the region’s flagship hospital during an unannounced inspection in September.
This had also followed an earlier probe into conditions at FVRH in April which led to 11 recommendations being made to improve patient care.
The HIS report had revealed that staff were continuing to work under “extreme pressure” at the hospital, with the occupancy within A&E reaching 230 per cent, while some patients waited more than a day to be moved from the emergency department on to a ward.
The inspectors were also heavily critical of management at the hospital, with staff raising concerns over patient safety due to unsafe working conditions and staffing levels.
Staff had also described a culture of “not being listened to or supported by senior management”.
In November Health Secretary Humza Yousaf had placed NHS Forth Valley into Level Four of the National Performance Framework for Governance, Leadership and Culture.
This meant the board had to work under direct oversight from the Scottish Government after failing to make improvements in key areas.
A health board spokesperson said a number of improvements had already been made in the last two months, including introducing care and comfort rounds in the Emergency Department and acute assessment areas and reducing the number of contingency beds in use across local hospitals.
They added there had also been improvements in performance in a number of service areas.