2010/11 Local Delivery Plan Annex 7

NHS Grampian/NHS Orkney/NHS Shetland

Non-clinical Partnership Arrangements

In July 2008, Scottish Government Health Directorate asked NHS Grampian, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland to build on their experience of collaborative working in the provision of clinical services to extend such arrangements to non clinical services. Additional resource was provided to the Island Boards to enter into arrangements with partners to strengthen capability and capacity in areas such as human resources, finance, governance and planning. Dedicated time of a senior Grampian Manager was identified from November 2008 onwards to facilitate and support the development of partnership arrangements for non clinical services. A supporting structure and process to agree the detail of the programmes of work was agreed and is overseen by a Partnership Steering Group involving the three Board Chief Executives. These Partnership Arrangements do not in any way detract from the Partnership Arrangements between the Island NHS Boards and Local Authority Partnerships.

Where a service need is identified by an Island Board then in the first instance its provision is sought from NHS Grampian. Should NHS Grampian not be in a position to respond, then the Island Board can secure this from elsewhere. Partnership agreements developed since 2008 take a variety of forms. These include

·  Ongoing partnership input over an extended period of time such as the specialist support to Facilities and Estates in Shetland provided by a senior Estates Manager from Grampian and senior management secondments from NHS Grampian to NHS Orkney.

·  Time limited/one off agreements such as the provision of training courses on the handling and responding to complaints provided in Shetland by NHS Grampian’s Feedback Advisor and on undertaking impact assessments in Orkney by NHS Grampian’s Equality and Diversity Manager.

·  Peer support/Information/systems sharing. The partnership agreement process has been instrumental in facilitating the development of peer relationships between the Boards. A number of informal links are now in place and there has been considerable sharing of processes, systems and documentation for mutual benefit.

Partnership agreements will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis throughout the life of this Local Delivery Plan. Progress is reviewed quarterly. A position statement as at March 2010 is provided below and further information can be provided on request.

NHS Orkney/NHS Grampian
Senior Management: Interim Chief Operating Officer secondment for 14 months (ending March 2010). Part time Acute Services Manager secondment until September 2010.
Corporate Communications: Service provided from Grampian since April 2009. Two year agreement in place from November 2009.
Human Resources: Specific support agreed for medical contractual governance and workforce redesign and learning and development. Input to disciplinary cases as required. Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Health and Safety: 5 day on island ‘Managing Safely' course for c14 service managers to be held in Spring 2010. Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Prescribing: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Equality and Diversity: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Planning, Performance and Intelligence: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Board Development and Governance: Initial work completed with further requirement under discussion.
NHS Shetland/NHS Grampian
Estates and Facilities: 3 year agreement in place commencing November 08.
Board Development and Governance: Under discussion (deferred from 2009/10)
Optometric Advice: One Optometric Advisor session per month commencing November 2009.
Information Services/Health Intelligence: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Human Resources: Ongoing peer support/sharing with specific input as required.
Health and Safety: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
Fraud Liaison: Ongoing peer support/sharing.
SLA Refinement/Development: ongoing with any resource requirement to be assessed
Prescribing: Ongoing peer support/sharing with specific input as required (under discussion)
Supporting Infrastructure
Islands Co-ordinator resource identified from 1st November 2008.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of the non- clinical partnership arrangements is planned for February/March 2010.