Robison Praised Hospital 'Progress'

Health Secretary Shona Robison has said NHS chiefs have made real progress'' in tackling problems at a hospital after inspectors criticised both its staffing and leadership.

NHS Grampian is recruiting additional nursing staff, looking at how it can improve emergency care and also working to deal with complaints better.

It comes after a report by Healthcare Improvement Scotland found ''significant deficiencies'' in the management of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).

Inspectors highlighted the widespread disengagement'' among medical staff and said there were ''considerable staffing'' difficulties at the hospital.

The report, which was published in December, also raised issues with the number of medical staff in the emergency department and branded one of the surgical units ''significantly dysfunctional''.

NHS Grampian developed an action plan in response to the concerns, with the health board publishing an update on its progress.

Ms Robison said the update showed they were heading in the right direction'' after what had beena particularly tough and challenging time''.

NHS Grampian said it had increased the number of working nurses by the equivalent of 200 additional full-time staff and would take on a further 30 to 40 new nurses in new financial year.

Work is being done to develop a sustainable workforce model'' for the emergency department at ARI, with the health board also reviewing its unscheduled care plan.

The health board said that some changes will take time to complete'' while others would be ongoingas they reflect a systematic change across NHS Grampian''.

But it stated that good progress has already been made in achieving some objectives''.

Ms Robison said: There is no doubt that NHS Grampian have been through a particularly tough and challenging time and in December Healthcare Improvement Scotland identified a series of recommendations for the board to take forward.

I'm pleased to see that in a relatively short space of time real progress has been achieved in addressing these recommendations and the board's update shows that they are heading in the right direction.

While there is clearly still more work to be done over the coming months, I believe the new leadership at the health board have moved NHS Grampian forward and there is now a sense of unity and common purpose among staff.''

The Health Secretary, speaking ahead of a visit to ARI, welcomed plans to take on more nurses along with work to improve emergency care.

She added: It is also good to see that the way NHS Grampian are responding to feedback from patients has improved, showing they are listening to patients and making changes to improve services where necessary.

This Government is supporting these changes with a £49.1 million increase to the health board's budget confirmed for the next financial year - equating to a 6.3% rise. This is the highest uplift of any territorial health board within Scotland.

We'll be continuing to work with the health board to support the improvements and changes to services that are needed, ensuring that the people living in the Grampian area continue to receive the high quality and excellent care they expect from our NHS.''