Report to the People
25th April 2005
Scrap the Board?
Structures are not the solution to
difficulties in the NHS, but they can be part of the problem.
Take
Argyll and Clyde Health Board. Over
a period of years and under a succession of management regimes, it has dreamt up
a string of ill thought out re-organisation plans. Its accounts are a mess. And it has lost the trust of those it serves.
Indeed,
a key flaw in its last doomed scheme was that it looked only at organising
services within its own artificial boundaries.
It’s
hardly surprising, then, that few tears have been shed at the suggestion that
the Board could be scrapped and that we in Inverclyde could team up with places
such as Glasgow to form a new board.
This
would certainly offer advantages – the focus could be put squarely on tackling
the persistent public health problems in urban areas, for a start.
Despite
the recent press reports, however, no final decision has been made about whether
to pull the plug on the board. On
Thursday, therefore, I sought assurances from Jack McConnell at First
Minister’s Question Time that he and his Ministers will not shrink from taking
the toughest action when it is required.
The
First Minister and Health Minister are right that, when any decision is taken,
what’s best for patients’ must be the top priority. So is it, they have to ask, in patients’ best interests to
allow a board like Argyll and Clyde to continue to limp along?
Back to Current Reports to the People
[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Report to the People ] [ Interact ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]
[ Copyright ] [ Directgov ] [ Scottish Parliament ]