10 June 2005
The chief executive of NHS 24 in Scotland has apologised to patients following publication of an inquiry report strongly criticising the service over a series of management failures.
John McGuigan, who was appointed in February, said that, since the autumn of 2004, it had become clear that patients had been forced to wait too long for their calls to be dealt with. The length of time that some patients had waited to be called back had been unacceptable.
'I would like to apologise to those patients who have experienced a poor level of service,' he said.
The report, following an inquiry by an independent review team set up by Health Minister Andy Kerr, criticised the board of NHS 24 for having no effective leadership, failing to recruit enough staff and rushing to set up the service too quickly.
A new interim chair, George King, vice chair of Tayside NHS Board, has been appointed following the decision of Christine Lenihan to step down from the post. Announcing her decision just a few days before publication of the hard-hitting report, she gave no detailed explanation but said she had been 'thinking long and hard' about it.
According to the report, the major challenges facing the service were identified at least two years ago. They were just not tackled in time, it stated. The document also criticised a lack of transparency and referred to significant problems that led to further difficulties in finding help from NHS boards.
McGuigan said action would be taken to address the report's recommendations, which include an examination of the feasibility of setting up several 'mini-centres' rather than relying on the three current call centres in Aberdeen, Clydebank and Edinburgh.
Kerr said steps had already been taken to address some of the issues raised. He promised further action based on the interim findings.
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