Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 27 January 2025

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Message for All NHSO Staff 

Dear Team Orkney

Re: Help us create our priorities for year 2 of our Corporate Strategy

We’re starting our conversations with you, our patients and our community about what our priorities need to be for Year 2 of our Corporate Strategy (2025/26).

Since we launched our Corporate Strategy last year, it has been our ‘compass’ and determines every decision we make.

Involving you, patients, local community, partners and external stakeholders in the development of our priorities for Year 2 is key so that it is meaningful to everyone.

I also recognise from the many conversations I have with you and feedback I have received, that there are currently too many competing priorities and ‘asks’ being put onto people which are unreasonable.

I am committing as we prepare for Year 2 of our Corporate Strategy which will set out our organisational priorities for 2025/26 that we challenge ourselves to focus on a core set of the highest priorities that we stick to for the year ahead so that these are fixed and are realistic, achievable and transparent and with this we don’t try to do everything at once.

We started this conversation at our Extended Senior Leadership Team meeting last week where our circa 50 most senior leaders at NHS Orkney came together to discuss our high-level thoughts for priorities for the year ahead so we can begin to seek feedback from you and wider input from our community and partners in the month or so to come.

Other factors that will impact on our priorities include:

  • National and regional priorities – including those relating to operational performance (waiting times), safety and quality and financial sustainability and recovery
  • The recommendations from the External Review we commissioned into culture, governance and senior leadership which we are responding to now and which I shared with you last week

You can have your say in a number of ways, including by completing this short survey, which takes just a few minutes to complete: https://forms.office.com/e/WmnZdsuu9J

Alternately, or in addition, we’ve arranged some dedicated listening sessions for staff too where we’d like to hear your views, as follows:

5 February at 9am – In person – The Balfour

10 February at 1.30pm –  Via Teams

20 February at 11.15am – In person – The Balfour

25 February at 12.45pm – Via Teams

Please do take a few minutes to fill in the survey, or pop along to one of our listening sessions.

Following a period of engagement and listening this month and next, we will launch Year 2 of our Strategy in April 2024. Please have your say.

We look forward to these conversations with you, Team Orkney, and we look forward to the year ahead of continuing on our exciting improvement journey, together. 

Best wishes

Laura Skaife-Knight

CEO