Main updates
Incident at St Andrews Community Hospital
On Tuesday 29 November, the Information Commissioner's Office issued NHS Fife with a reprimand following an incident at St Andrews Community Hospital earlier this year.
The incident related to someone claiming to be agency nursing staff accessing the personal information of patients on a ward. The person was never alone with any patients and left after a short period of time when they were challenged by a member of the nursing team. A full statement on the incident can be accessed here.
Accident and emergency performance
We continue to see high numbers of people in our Accident and Emergency department at the Victoria Hospital. The challenges we face moving into the busy winter period – both in terms of patient volumes and clinical staffing – are both well documented and mirrored across other health boards – as they have been for several years now.
Despite these challenges, NHS Fife continues to perform above the national performance average for the number of patients seen within four hours, and our A&E teams continue to go above and beyond to provide safe, high-quality care to those in the most urgent need.
Whilst the latest figures show that over 65% of patients are being seen within four hours, what is often omitted from the statistics is the context around patient journey and clinical prioritisation – which is important and serves to reinforce our commitment to ensuring that those who are most unwell are given the highest priority for urgent care.
Ultimately, those with the most serious and life-threatening injuries or illness are seen most quickly, with large numbers being transported directly into A&E by ambulance. For those with less severe illness or injury, they will be assessed by skilled clinicians when they arrive at A&E and either treated in order of urgency – which can fluctuate as the day or night progresses and more people attend – or be redirected to receive care or guidance from somewhere more appropriate. As such, someone waiting more than four hours, whilst not ideal and something we are constantly working to try and address, does not necessarily equate to increased risk or compromised safety standards.
To help alleviate some of the pressures in our A&E, as well as helping patients get the best care in the most appropriate location, our public messaging is that attending A&E or calling 999 is for emergencies only such as serious injury, suspected heart attack or stroke, breathing difficulties or severe bleeding. For those who think they may need emergency care, but it is not critical or life threatening – they should call NHS 24 on 111 to make sure they get the right care in the right place.
Whilst most people are either referred to A&E or attend with an urgent medical need, there are still those who turn up who could be more appropriately treated elsewhere – often much quicker. Our minor injuries services, of which there are four in Fife, are staffed by highly qualified specialists who can treat serious but not life-threatening illness or injury such as cuts and wounds, burns and scalds, and broken bones.
Financial update
Like colleagues elsewhere in the country, we are seeing considerable pressures on our financial resources. Our current financial position projects a revenue overspend for the first six months of the financial year.
Achieving the cost savings to mitigate the in-year overspend is hugely challenging, with several factors continuing to result in additional costs. These include additional spending on service-level agreements with neighbouring Boards, the continued need for significant supplementary staffing, ongoing inflationary pressures on non-pay spending, COVID legacy costs, and the continued need to use surge capacity.
Whilst the current financial position is very challenging, we continue to work towards reducing the projected overspend where that is within our control, while maintaining the quality of care we provide.
The latest financial performance and sustainability report, which was presented at the November meeting of the NHS Fife Board, begins on page 69 of our latest Board papers.
Fife theatres accredited for quality of surgical services
NHS Fife’s operating theatres have become the first in Scotland to become officially accredited by the Association of Perioperative Practice (AfPP) for the quality of the surgical services they offer. Three sites in total – the Victoria Hospital, Queen Margaret Hospital, and National Treatment Centre – have all officially received AfPP accreditation.
The accreditation mark is awarded to theatre departments who meet a defined set of criteria, including demonstrating the consistency and quality of staff training, improving the patient experience, and ensuring robust processes and protocols are in place to maximise patient safety. More information is available here.
GPs participating in winter planning sessions
We are supporting GP practices as they participate in an upcoming winter planning session on Tuesday 5 December. Practices taking part will use the afternoon session to prepare for the busy winter period and will be closed during this time.
People who already have existing appointments for the afternoon of 5 December should attend as arranged, unless advised otherwise by their GP surgery. More information is available here.
Professor Jason Leitch visits Victoria Hospital
The Scottish Government’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, and clinical leadership fellow, Dr Kirsty Wood, recently visited the Victoria Hospital.
The duo attended the early morning safety huddle, which brings staff representatives from all areas of the hospital together to ensure there are sufficient resources in place across the site to start the day, and Fife’s National Treatment Centre for orthopaedics. Recruitment was also a key theme of the visit, with Professor Leitch and Dr Wood introduced to some of Fife’s new international recruits. More information is available here.
Employee engagement app shortlisted for national award
The internal communications platform used by NHS Fife to communicate news and information to our staff reached the finals of this year’s national Engage Awards in London.
NHS Fife was nominated in the best use of technology in employee engagement category for its work on StaffLink, alongside major organisations including Deloitte UK, Marks and Spencer, and T-Mobile. The intuitive platform, which mirrors a social media style interface, was implemented shortly after the pandemic hit and has helped connect thousands of staff across Fife.
NHS Fife was also a finalist alongside multi-national organisations, including AstraZeneca and Balfour Beatty, in the best internal communications strategy category, recognising effective, sustainable, and successful internal communications.
Winter ready webpages
With temperatures dropping and viruses like flu circulating more, we have updated the winter readiness pages our website. The pages are designed to give people information and advice to help them stay well and, should they require healthcare services, get the right care in the right place. You can view the pages here.
Statistical information
NHS Performs
NHS Performs brings together a range of information on how NHS Fife is performing, including A&E performance, cancelled operations, delayed discharges and diagnostic waiting times. The latest information can be viewed here.
Workforce information
NHS Education for Scotland publishes a quarterly update on workforce related information, including the number of staff directly employed by NHS Fife and the number of vacant posts for nursing and midwifery staff, allied health professions, and medical and dental consultants.
The interactive dashboard also outlines trends over time and references other useful information such as sickness absence rates, staff age profile, and spend on agency and bank. The latest publication was published in June and can be viewed here.
Sharing our messages
We appreciate the support of elected members in sharing our health messages with constituents and on social media.