First Minister Confirms Governance Of NHS Boards Will Start With Highland Board

19th April 2018

The First Minister confirmed today that the Scottish Government has commissioned a review of corporate governance of the Board of NHS Highland.

Nicola Sturgeon stated: "At the tail-end of last year we commissioned a pilot review of corporate governance in NHS Boards which is being led by John Brown, who is the Chair of NHS Glasgow and interim Chair at Tayside, and that started in NHS Highland. It's expected that a report of that will be published before the summer recess."

The First Minister explained that the review was being undertaken to assess whether there is governance in place "to do some of the transformational work that is needed in the delivery of health care."

Details emerged of the review when the First Minister was questioned by the Scottish Parliament's Convener's Group.

Highlands and Islands Scottish Conservative MSP Edward Mountain commented:‘Questions are being asked about the Board of NHS Highland but we are still unclear as to what those exact questions are.

That is why I have lodged a series of questions so the public will know what the terms of reference are for the review and what recommendations have been made.

Confidence in the NHS Highland staff remains high but confidence in the management is draining away and a spotlight needs to be shone on how NHS Highland is being run."

NHS Highland have put out a statement -

The Chair of NHS Highland asked the Scottish Government to facilitate support from a Chair and a Non Executive Director from other NHS Boards to provide an external perspective on a range of corporate governance issues. Accordingly, the Scottish Government identified John Brown CBE, Chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Susan Walsh OBE, a Non Executive Director of Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

The report will:

· make recommendations to the Chair of NHS Highland on areas for development and, where necessary, improvement

· make recommendations to the Scottish Government on matters relevant to corporate governance in NHS Scotland more widely

David Alston, Chair of NHS Highland, said: "As the First Minister has said, the Scottish Government regard this as a pilot for a wider programme of review of governance in NHS Scotland and I am pleased that our Board is the first to participate in this process.”