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Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government visits NHS Orkney
Shona Robison MSP visited Orkney this week where she toured NHS Orkney sites and Orkney Islands Council. We were proud to show Ms Robison our efforts to further improve our sustainability across NHS Orkney including the decarbonisation of all our sites. Our decarbonisation projects started in 2022 and were completed earlier this year, we are the first health board in Scotland to have achieved full decarbonisation across our entire estate including all the isles. Other sustainability improvements include changing our fleet to 100% electric vehicles and having EV charging points at all the properties we own. Ms Robison also heard…
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Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 18 August 2025
Message for All NHSO Staff Hi All I hope you are all well. This week I start my blog by summarising the Board and Senior Leadership Team meeting we had last week, which was constructive and helped to further build relationships, which is always welcomed. We covered a lot of ground in the session, which we hold twice-a-year, including: the national context (Service Renewal Framework, Population Health Framework, Operational Improvement Plan and Public Sector Reform Strategy) our financial position and how we are responding to the challenge we face and our Quarter 1 Corporate Strategy performance. The conversations demonstrated that…
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EV Charges at The Balfour
From midday on Monday 18 August, the Electric Car Chargers at The Balfour (at the front entrance) will be temporarily turned off. This temporary measure will be in place until the chargers can be updated and fitted with a cost charging mechanism. Since opening The Balfour, it was intended that these chargers would be available for patients and visitors to use but at a cost and until now we have opted to not introduce this charge. However, with the rising costs of energy and given our financial pressures, we have decided that now is the right time to introduce charges.…
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NHSO Board Chair Update
Thank you all for your kind wishes over the last week. I have been quite blown away and humbled by them. Orkney is a truly wonderful place, and I have been privileged to be a part of it. We have had an offer accepted on a house, and our move south as a family has begun to move far swifter than originally planned. NHS Orkney is also in the fortunate position of having an experienced Vice Chair, Davie Campbell, who is able to flex and step up sooner and is very well-engaged in the organisation and community. Therefore, my last substantive day in the organisation will be…
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New Director of People and Culture Announced
Dave Harris will join NHS Orkney as the new Director of People and Culture following a comprehensive recruitment and selection process. Dave has over 32 years’ experience of working in a range of public sector organisations, including recently, 10 years in the NHS in England. He is currently the Executive Director of People, Culture and Wellbeing at the University of Bradford. He is also an honorary lecturer there and at the University of Salford, where he is completing his PhD. He has an MA (Hons) in Classics and an MSc in Innovation and Improvement Science, is a qualified coach/mentor and…
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Public Holiday – Monday 11 August 2025
Monday 11 August is a Public Holiday for NHS Orkney. All GP surgeries will be closed on the Public Holiday, but in an emergency you can contact a GP in the same way as routine evening/weekend cover. If you are ill when your practice is closed and can’t wait until it reopens, you should call NHS 24 on 111. In an emergency you should dial 999. You can find our public holiday dates on the link here https://www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/about-us/public-holidays/ Community Pharmacy Arrangements on the Public Holiday on Monday 11 August:
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Patient Access Policy
It is the responsibility of all health boards across Scotland to have a Patient Access Policy which aligns to the National Access Policy. The policy outlines what the responsibilities are of the health board and of the patient. Ensuring patients are treated fairly and consistently across NHS Orkney and are communicated with effectively at every stage of their care journey. This Patient Access Policy sets out the details of the current waiting times standards which are: Dr Anna Lamont, Medical Director at NHS Orkney said: “As an island board, we know delays can feel more uncertain when specialist care often…
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Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 28 July 2025
Message for All NHSO Staff Morning everyone Happy Monday and the start of another new week for us. I start by updating you on our work to develop new behavioural standards to underpin our values of open and honest, respect and kindness. Recognising it is the role of the Board to shape organisational culture (the way we do things here), as a Board we have spent time in recent months discussing the culture we want to create here and the engagement work to develop our new behavioural standards rightly started with the Board. I am pleased to see wider engagement…
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NHSO Chair to join NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC)
Meghan McEwen, NHS Orkney Board Chair will leave her position in September to take up the role of Head of the Healthcare Charity at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Meghan has chaired the organisation since she joined NHS Orkney in April 2020 and saw first-hand how staff responded to the unprecedented challenges, seeing the incredible dedication staff have for the community and delivering the excellent care to the people of Orkney. Meghan said: “Being the Board Chair of NHS Orkney has been the privilege of my professional life. This decision has not been easy, but for family reasons, it is…
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How we’re doing: our Quarter 1 (April – June) Year 2 Corporate Strategy progress update
Our Corporate Strategy and five strategic objectives (our “5 Ps”: Place, People, Patient Safety, Performance and Potential) support delivery of our continuous improvement and our Promise (vision) which is to look after our community and provide excellent care. How we did in Quarter 1 There are 15 priorities and 30 deliverables in our Corporate Strategy Delivery Plan for Quarter 1 of 2025/26. In response to staff feedback about too many priorities, this is half the number of priorities we had last year. At the end of June, no actions were red (significantly delayed), 1 action is amber (partially delayed) and…
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Waiting List Validation – Patients Waiting Over 10 Weeks
From next week, Wednesday 23 July 2025, patients who have been waiting over 10 weeks for an inpatients or outpatients appointment and return patients who do not currently have an appointment in the following specialities will receive a text message from The National Elective Coordination Unit (NECU) from mobile number 07860 039092: These text messages will include a link to a short survey asking if patients still need their appointment, followed by a few questions to confirm their identity. People who are answering the survey on behalf of someone else must provide the patient’s details at this stage. While the…
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Where compassion meets adventure – NHS Orkney launches new recruitment campaign
In a week where Orkney hosts the 20th International Island Games, taking centre stage and showing off the islands basked in sunshine, we’re excited to launch our new recruitment campaign. This fresh recruitment drive at NHS Orkney showcases our people and place and how Orkney is a great place to live and work. We are a diverse employer with a whole range of careers and development opportunities both clinical and non-clinical, whether that’s in our state-of-the-art hospital, The Balfour, or in our many community services that support the whole community across all of our islands, including our ferry-linked isles. Laura…