NHS Tayside ‘progressing’ in putting its house in order
A STRUGGLING health board is “on the road to recovery” but still needs to make major changes, a report has said.
An advisory group set up to help NHS Tayside said it had “made progress” towards meeting 10 recommendations for improvement that were set out in June 2017.
As a result, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced the board’s ranking on an NHS performance scale had been upgraded from five – the lowest level – to four.
Health boards who achieve this grading on the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework are still classed as having “significant risks to delivery, quality, financial performance or safety” with “senior level external support required”.
Ms Freeman confirmed the change in ranking after receiving the latest update from the NHS Tayside Assurance and Advisory Group, led by Professor
Sir Lewis Ritchie .
It stated: “While we are of the view that NHS Tayside is on the road to recovery, much more needs to be done – encouraging incremental change has happened but transformational change still beckons and is imperative.”
The health board has made “substantial improvements in controlling and reducing expenditure”, the report said, and is currently on track to make efficiency savings of £32.2 million in 2018-19.