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Health Service Forum South East
Minutes of a regular meeting of the Health Service Forum S.E. held in the Larkfield Centre on Tuesday 9th January 2007 at 7.30pm
Contents
Welcome
Margaret Hinds welcomed and wished everyone a Happy New Year.
Apologies
Apologies received from: Louise Laing, Aileen Fyfe, Alva Caldwell, Dorothy Walls,
Dan Macphail and Irene Addie
Minutes
Minutes of 12th December meeting were approved.
Correspondence
Letter from Robert Calderwood re soft services at the new Southern General: an in-house team will be able to bid. His statement that cleaning standards had been maintained led to a discussion of cleanliness, including a reported claim in a recent broadcast by Lesley Ashe that one patient in ten (in England) contracts MRSA, yet it is virtually unknown in Holland.
Treasurer’s report
Margaret reported a balance of £2365
IT
Douglas McGregor spoke to a paper he had prepared on Electronic Medical Records. The NHS has a troubled record on IT: pilot schemes take a long time to produce results, which are by then out of date, leading to frustration among clinicians.
GPASS (General Practice Administration System for Scotland) is free to GPs and used by 85% of GP Practices. Medical records are the property of the relevant Health Board, and as the technology is now well over ten years old there are moves to replace the system. Proposals for a Central Repository have merit but raise serious concerns:
a) Data might be accessible not only to GPs, Consultants and Hospitals treating the patient, but to non-medical bodies such as Police, Benefits Agency, Education (even schools might have access to the records of parents). The dangers of information getting into the wrong hands are obvious.
b) An “opt out” system could allow patients to deny access on grounds of confidentiality.
c) An “opt in” system might satisfy the Data Protection Act, e.g. by confining access to “medical only” unless the patient specifically widens it, but either system could potentially dilute overall effectiveness.
d) Any change will involve a massive re-listing/computer entry of data.
e) A Deloitte report recommends the adoption of a commercial alternative to GPASS, but overlooks one small snag - there doesn’t seem to be one.
It was agreed that the Forum would raise questions with the Minister:
i) Will information be made available outwith the medical profession?
ii) If so, to whom?
iii) Further specific questions - Alistair Glen agreed to prepare a list.
2
Wishaw General
The closure (albeit temporary) today was noted with alarm. Despite the defence by the Board, the incident serves as a warning that capacity in Lanarkshire is under pressure, which can only be increased by the impending downgrading of Monklands. As the Victoria was also closed due to the “flu”at one point, the impending closures of A&Es in Glasgow and Lanarkshire clearly spells disaster. Hairmyres cannot cope with the patients from Monklands and the Victoria and the Royal cannot cope with the closure of Stobhill. We have the Health Board’s own latest figures showing clearly that the Victoria A&E is the busiest hospital in Glasgow and the second busiest in Scotland. How can they possibly justify closures? The latest news on Bird Flu having reached this country is disquieting. Mr. Calderwood at the last meeting of the South monitoring group said they could cope with this emergency, as we have just seen the recent ordinary “flu” left them struggling and hospitals closed we are not convinced by his assertions.
Beds
NHSGGC’s bed model has still never materialized. We must be getting close to the Guinness Book of Records in the wait for an answer to a simple question; it places the validity of long-term planning in question. We have been told that although the ACAD may have more than the 12 overnight beds announced. This would be at the expense of more ex-Mansionhouse beds - already reduced from 60 to 48. So don’t get sick, and whatever you do don’t get old.
PPP/PFI
The pros and cons were again aired: whatever the merits of such hire purchase schemes, the difficulty in finding full financial comparisons between them and traditional public sector purchase leaves major disquiet. We have to continue to raise common-sense questions, however naïve they may be labelled.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday 13th February 2007