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NHS Orkney 2025 staff survey results signal further progress
Last week we received our latest annual staff survey results, which show that people’s experience of working at NHS Orkney continues to improve year-on-year. The annual, national staff survey (called iMatter) takes place across all Health Boards. The latest results show further progress in most areas, suggesting that we are doing the right things to make NHS Orkney a great place to work. There are 30 questions in the iMatter survey and NHS Orkney improved in 20 of them. The scores were the same as last year for the remaining nine questions and only one decreased by just one point.…
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Enhancing palliative care services across Orkney
People living with a terminal illness will now benefit from having Marie Curie Health Care Assistants based in Orkney. During 2024 Marie Curie in partnership with NHS Orkney, agreed to pilot a new working model for how they support the community with a trial of having dedicated Marie Curie resources in Orkney. Following the successful pilot, there will now be dedicated Marie Curie Health Care Assistants based in the community, working with our District Nursing Teams to support patients in their own homes and across the care homes. The Health Care Assistants will provide care delivery, emotional support and companionship…
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Phio introduced across Orkney
NHS Orkney are excited to launch “Phio” across Orkney. Phio is a clinically led, free-to-use, interactive assessment physiotherapy service, accessed online (or via the app) with direct support from qualified physiotherapists. Phio is available 24/7 and is an additional resource for anyone seeking physiotherapy advice. Phio has been successfully used in other Scottish Health Boards and is now available to any individual aged 16 and over who are registered with a GP in Orkney. The Phio app offers a range of features designed to assist patients in managing their musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including a self-management programme, exercise routines, and ongoing…
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Preparing for a busy summer season across Orkney
As we all know the summer season brings an abundance of visitors to our beautiful islands and we hope by outlining a few basic reminders, we’ll help to keep everyone well whether you’re a local or visitor. We’d really appreciate if accommodation and travel providers, historical sites, and any other points of interest could share this message so we ensure a wide reach. Visitors are asked to please remember to bring sufficient prescription and other regular medication to cover the duration of your stay in Orkney. Likewise, we’d remind our local’s, if you are travelling away from Orkney this summer,…
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Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 2 June 2025
Message for All NHSO Staff Hi All The weather seems to have returned to ‘business as usual’ after several weeks of sunshine which I know gave us all a boost. I start with three good news stories, so we start the week on a positive. First – we have received £165,000 from Scottish Government to address some of our longest waits – particularly in ENT and Ophthalmology – with a strong focus on aiming to have zero 52-week waits by the end of March 2026 consistent with the national number one priority for all Boards. We are awaiting updates on…
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Disposal of Surplus Equipment
Please find information below to the recent NHS Orkney disposal of surplus equipment notice along with details on how to submit offers. All offers are to be marked ‘TENDER – VEHICLE‘ and emailed to ork.procurement@nhs.scot by 12pm on Wednesday 18 June 2025. Vehicles will be sold as seen and are only suitable for spares or repair. For further details and to view the vehicles please contact Blaine Williamson at the Estates Department – 01856 888099 or blaine.williamson@nhs.scot Data Privacy By providing NHS Orkney with your details you are giving us consent to process your personal information. The information you provide will be stored securely on…
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MRI arrives in Orkney!
The NHS Orkney MRI scanner is due to arrive at The Balfour tomorrow, Saturday 24 May. Until March of this year, NHS Orkney was part of the national North of Scotland programme which saw a visiting MRI scanner on site regularly, this reduced travel and waiting times for MRI scanning, particularly in remote and rural areas. After reviewing the way the MRI service would be delivered when the regional funding finished, NHS Orkney successfully secured a bid to trial a full time scanner at The Balfour until the end of March 2026. Over the next year, there will be an…
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Waiting List Validation – Patients waiting on a return waiting list for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), General Medicine, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Trauma and Orthopaedics
From next week, Tuesday 27 May 2025, patients who are currently on a waiting list for a return outpatient appointment within Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), General Medicine, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Trauma and Orthopaedics 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 majority of…
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Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 19 May 2025
Message for All NHSO Staff Hi All I hope you are all enjoying this continued beautiful weather and taking the opportunity to be outdoors more and enjoying these sunny, longer evenings and weekends. It makes such a difference to how we’re feeling and with this brings more happiness and optimism in my view. Long may it continue! I’m delighted that after extensive engagement we have launched our new Staff Experience Programme – called Your Employee Journey – setting out how in response to your feedback we are focusing on priority areas to ensure we further improve your experience of working…
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Chief Executive Fortnightly Blog to NHS Orkney Staff – 6 May 2025
Message for All NHSO Staff Morning all Thanks so much to those who worked over the Public Holiday weekend to care for our patients and welcome back to those who, I hope, have benefited from the long weekend with the opportunity for some downtime and family time. I wanted to start by recapping on some of the key messages following last week’s announcement about Scottish Government showing their support for NHS Orkney by offering transitional funding to give the organisation a clear path to financial balance and de-escalation. Firstly, I want to reiterate that this additional non repayable funding of…
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Disposal of Surplus Equipment – May 2025
Please find information below to the recent NHS Orkney disposal of surplus equipment notice along with details on how to submit offers. All offers are to be marked ‘TENDER – VEHICLE‘ and emailed to ork.procurement@nhs.scot by 12pm on Wednesday 14 May 2025. Vehicles will be sold as seen and are only suitable for spares or repair. For further details and to view the vehicles please contact Blaine Williamson at the Estates Department – 01856 888099 or blaine.williamson@nhs.scot Data Privacy By providing NHS Orkney with your details you are giving us consent to process your personal information. The information you provide will be stored securely…
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Scottish Government backs NHS Orkney by offering transitional funding that gives us a clear path to financial balance and de-escalation
Thanks to the efforts of staff across the organisation, NHS Orkney is one of few Boards in Scotland to achieve our Financial Plan, Savings Plan (record savings of £4m) and 3% recurring savings requirement for 2024/25. This is an incredible achievement and one which gives us a solid foundation on which to build so that we can move NHS Orkney back to a sustainable financial position in the years to come. Consistent with other Health Boards, NHS Orkney has received feedback from Scottish Government following submission of our 3-year financial plan. Scottish Government has written to us to recognise the…