Freeman in the line of fire over ‘occasional’ reviews of NHS boards
HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman has been criticised after the Scottish Government f ailed to carry out a majority of the “annual reviews” of NHS boards this year.
Eight of 14 health service summits have spilled over to next year. Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “The review of NHS boards is supposed to happen annually, not occasionally, but that’s what we are seeing under Jeane Freeman’s watch.”
Freeman became embroiled in a transparency row this month after The Herald on Sunday revealed she would no longer take questions from the public at NHS summits.
The previous Labour-led administration, against a backdrop of criticism about the accountability of NHS boards, opted to make the annual reviews open to the public.
The one-day sessions were intended to enhance scrutiny of key NHS organisations and later allowed citizens to question ministers and senior officials directly.
However, Freeman changed the format so the public session would be a matter for the boards themselves, as distinct from a separate ministerial review.
She later appeared to perform a U-turn by insisting the public sessions would still have a “ministerial presence”.
A fresh row has broken out over the frequency of the reviews, which are carried out every calendar year.
According to a list obtained by this newspaper, only a minority of the new cycle of reviews will be carried out this year. Eight sessions, including the boards in the Western Isles, Grampian, Lothian, Forth Valley and Tayside, will take place in 2019.
Two reviews – in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, as well as Ayrshire and Arran – are planned for March, while the meeting for Dumfries and Galloway is scheduled for April.
A Scottish Government source said the review season usually starts in summer recess, but i t was not possible this year given the ministerial changes in June. F r e e ma n replaced Shona Robison in a Cabinet reshuffle.
It comes after outgoing NHS Scotland chief executive Paul Gray confirmed more than one-third of boards had been escalated to “stage three” or above of the health service’s performance escalation framework.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Forth Valley are at stage three, which is described as “significant variation from plan”, “risks materialising” and “tailored support required”.
The boards in Highland and Borders are at the more serious stage four, while crisis-hit NHS Tayside stands alone at stage five, which requires ministerial intervention.
Lennon added: “It’s vital Jeane Freeman and her team urgently get to grips with their brief because health boards are on the brink of financial crisis, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, which provides healthcare in Ms Freeman’s own constituency. Ultimately, delivering for patients is what matters and SNP ministers need to get their act together.”
Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said: “Annual reviews are an important way of assessing the state of health boards, and nipping any problems in the bud. Quite why more than half have failed to do that is a mystery.
“If the Government was serious about t he NHS, i t would have ensured these processes took place on time.”
A Government spokesman said: “We are completely committed to ensuring NHS boards deliver for the people they serve. The Cabinet reshuffle earlier this year, which saw Ms Freeman become Health Secretary, meant fewer reviews could be held over the summer.
“The importance we set on these reviews cannot be overstated. That i s why ministers are personally chairing the annual reviews of all 14 territorial NHS boards and four special boards between November 2018 and April 2019.
“The scheduling allows boards and officials the time to properly prepare, and ensure ministers are fully informed before they hold the relevant board to account.”