20 December 2002
An interim management team has been brought in to the Argyll and Clyde area to oversee health care services, restore confidence and repair relations with councillors.
The chief executives of the Argyll and Clyde NHS Board and three trusts – Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals, Lomond and Argyll Primary Care and Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care – stepped down following a report commissioned by the Scottish Executive.
Argyll and Bute Council asked Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm to intervene in October. The three-man support team uncovered a host of problems in the region, which serves a population of 423,500 people and has an annual budget of £434m.
They reported on December 16 that there was a lack of understanding of the true financial position, which comprises a shortfall of between £25m and £30m. The team concluded that mistrust was rife and the working environment was characterised by a blame culture.
The report stated that there was a lack of strategic direction in the board and there had been a loss of confidence to such a degree that clinicians believed the system to be 'incapable of making decisions'. The support team also complained of a 'them and us' culture between the trusts and the board.
Chisholm said: 'There can be no doubt that changes were needed in NHS Argyll and Clyde …I am absolutely determined that we see management approaches adopted that devolve responsibility and decision-making to staff who are directly involved in delivering health care.'
PFdec2002
