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Message for NHS Orkney Staff from the CEO and Chair - Our Quarter 3 performance – how we did

Message for All NHS Orkney Staff 

Dear Team Orkney

Our Quarter 3 performance – how we did

Now we are now mid-waythrough the final quarter of 2023/24, it’s important that we reflect on our Quarter 3 (October-December 2023) achievements and progress. Yesterday we discussed the steps forward we continue to take and were clear about where we need to focus our efforts in the remainder of the year and beyond so that we continue to further improve patient, community and staff experience.

Strategic objective 1 – WORKFORCE

Quarter 3 progress: Headlines

  • Thanks to support from the Endowment Fund, we launched our first Team Orkney Awards in response to your feedback – receiving over 106 nominations for individuals and teams. These awards, through the People’s Choice Award and by working in partnership with The Orcadian, have been superbly supported by our fabulous local community. The winners will be announced at a special awards dinner on 22 March 2024
  • We’re preparing to launch Long Service Awards and recognise retirements in a more formal way in April 2024 (more to follow on this) – this is again in response to your feedback about the need for us to do more when it comes to valuing, rewarding and recognising Team Orkney
  • We have commissioned an Executive and Board Development Programme (funded by Scottish Government), which will start in March 2024
  • We completed an establishment review and identified a gap between funded establishment and actual establishment, which is being worked through so we can remove cost pressures from our organisation in a planned and measured way as part of our new efficiency programme and as vacancy opportunities arise

Strategic objective 2 – CULTURE
Quarter 3 progress: Headlines

  • A focus on improving our appraisal rates (which increased to 27% by January 2024), recognising this remains a top priority and focus for our Area Partnership Forum
  • We completed a 6-month review of our Senior Leadership Team (SLT), refreshing our terms of reference and membership (a reminder that anyone can attend SLT to observe at any time – and please do as part of your development. You can contact our Corporate Governance Lead to confirm your attendance and request the papers for the meeting)
  • We held several Extended Senior Leadership Team meetings to focus on a range of strategic issues and held our first Board-Extended Senior Leadership Team to further strengthen relationships between our Board and senior leadership community in December
  • We have completed 15 Board walkarounds (visits to services and teams from Board members – an Executive Director and Non-Executive) – since launching in May 2023 in response to your feedback about the importance of more visible leadership from senior leaders
  • Continued efforts to strengthen communications with you and ways of listening to and responding to staff feedback throughout the year – via monthly all staff briefings (and videos), CEO fortnightly blogs, regular drop-in sessions with the CEO and more regular updates being shared with all staff to keep you better informed on specific topics/subjects as well as regular updates posted on social media
  • Training for our Confidential Contacts (members of Team Orkney who support you by signposting you to the help and support you may need – including the whistleblowing process) has been organised for Quarter 4
  • We are engaging with our patients, community, partners and staff on our future Corporate Strategy – and this includes and involves developing refreshed values (which will be aligned to the NHS Scotland values)

Strategic objective 3 – QUALITY AND SAFETY
Quarter 3 progress: Headlines

  • We have substantively recruited to the Medical Director post (Dr Anna Lamont commenced in post in January 2024 and is our Board-level lead for Quality, Safety and Experience – Clinical Governance)
  • We have recruited a new Head of Patient Safety, Quality and Risk – Kat Jenkins – who commenced in post in February 2024
  • Corporate risk register updated, refreshed and simplified as part of our ongoing work to strengthen our approach to risk and risk management and mitigation across the organisation
  • Doing more to share feedback and learning from complaints and incidents/Significant Adverse Events with all staff via all staff communications and staff briefings, and our regular patient safety newsletter
  • We have improvement projects underway in a number of services, led by patients and staff – including Pain Services, Endoscopy and Physiotherapy
  • Following a review of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) - both clinical and non-clinical – we now know where we start from and the work that needs to take place to improve our governance arrangements re: SLAs and ensure there are leads and review dates for each agreement with other providers and Health Boards
  • We have contributed to a local fragile services review (looking at the picture in the North of Scotland and nationally)
  • We held our Annual Review meeting in Quarter 3, and this involved holding a patient listening event, which was led by our Board Chair

Strategic objective 4 – SYSTEMS AND GOVERNANCE
Quarter 3 progress: Headlines

  • Our Integrated Performance Report (IPR) continues to go from strength to strength, with our full IPR going monthly to Board and SLT, and relevant chapters of the IPR going to each Board Committee for oversight, scrutiny and assurance
  • We continue to share updates on key decision-making and discussions with all staff after every SLT and public Board meeting – for transparency
  • We completed an operational governance review and communicated the outputs to staff following approval at Board in December 2023. The second phase of this work has started and is on track to conclude in April, and includes a new policy framework
  • We are now using a new Chair’s Assurance Report template across the organisation as part of our governance to bring consistency
  • The outputs and improvement plan following the external review of Data Quality completed by Public Health Scotland were presented to Senior Leadership and our Board November/December 2023 and we are on track to deliver the improvements that are necessary
  • We have introduced a new Integrated Improvement function, led by our Head of Improvement – Debs Crohn – bringing quality, financial and digital improvement under one umbrella

Strategic objective 5 - SUSTAINABILITY
Quarter 3 progress: Headlines

  • In November 2023, we were formally escalated by the Scottish Government as part of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework as a result of our deteriorating financial position (at Month 10 – January - we are now forecasting a £5.9m year-end overspend versus our £3.1m plan)
  • In response – we have agreed a bespoke support package with SG, including a Recovery Director and team to work alongside our in-house team, we have stepped up Finance and Performance Committee to monthly and increased the frequency of our Financial Recovery Grip and Control Board to weekly. A Rapid Review exercise has been completed and the report published and a root and branch review of our Finance function is underway to inform future improvements
  • We are developing our 24/25 Cost Improvement Programme with teams and leaders across NHS Orkney and we are developing our three-year Financial Plan to submit to SG in March which sets out our path to balance in the years to come
  • We are making great progress in relation to net zero and our Decarbonisation Project and Green Theatres Project

We are really clear about our top priorities and the areas in which we need to retain focus to see the improvements that are necessary for our patients, local community and staff as we head towards the end of Quarter 4:

  1. A continued focus on the delivery of safe and high quality care for our patients
  2. Timely care for our patients (with a focus on improving our planned care performance, cancer performance, and in turn our waiting times for patients)
  3. We are seeking feedback from our community, partners and staff on our new Corporate Strategy, which will become our ‘compass’ for decision-making when we launch it in April 2024. Alongside our new strategy, we will launch a refreshed vision, values, strategic objectives and soon after a new Board Assurance Framework. Our strategy will be our promise and commitment to you and our community, and will reflect your feedback so that our priorities are meaningful and relevant. Thanks to everyone who has had their say and to those who told us what matters most to you
  4. Recovering our financial position, delivering the best possible results in 2023/24 through an organisation-wide focus and contributing to leading change and delivering efficiencies in 2024/25 and beyond so we can create a sustainable future
  5. Living our values and ensuring kind and visible leadership
  6. Continued progress on the areas in which we need to make improvements in response to your feedback, notably: better involving you in decision-making, listening to and acting on your feedback (and closing the loop) and ensuring you are sighted and involved in changes before they happen
  7. By March we will have a fully substantive Executive Team – bringing much-needed leadership stability to the organisation
  8. Introducing new performance review meetings for key services so that we have line of sight of performance in the rounds and can support teams with their improvements

A big thank you Team Orkney for your hard work and focus on the delivery of safe and compassionate care to our patients and their families. We know it’s been a busy winter and a tough few months. Please know that we appreciate everything you do. We look forward to the months ahead, to launching our new Corporate Strategy, vision, values and strategic objectives and to leading this fantastic organisation forward so we can be Better Together – and remain focused on further improving care and experience for our patients, and your experience of working here.


Best wishes
Meghan McEwen, Chair
Laura Skaife-Knight, CEO

 

Getting in touch

We shall be delighted to hear from you, so here are the various ways of contacting us:

The Balfour

By telephone to:
01856 888100
(during office hours)

01856 888000
(out of hours)

By e-mail to:
ORK.feedback@nhs.scot

By letter to the address below:

Foreland Road
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1NZ