IN CONFIDENCE NES/15/57
NHS Education for Scotland
MINUTES OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH BOARD MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 25TH JUNE 2015 AT WESTPORT 102, EDINBURGH
Present: Dr L. Burley (Chair)
Ms S. Douglas-Scott
Mr M. Duncanson Ms L. Ford, Employee Director
Dr C. Ferguson, Director of NMAHP
Mr D. Hutchens
Professor S. Irvine, Medical Director
Ms C. Lamb, Acting Chief Executive
Dr D. Steele
Dr A. Tannahill
In attendance: Mr D. Ferguson, Board Services Manager (Board Secretary)
Dr D. Felix, Postgraduate Dental Dean
Ms D. Wright, Director of Workforce
Mrs A. McColl, Acting Director of Finance
Mr L. Robertson, Deloitte (agenda item 7b only)
Dr R. Farley, Healthcare Science Programme Director (agenda item 8a only)
Dr Ailsa Power, Assistant Director of Pharmacy
Mrs Janice Sinclair, Acting Assistant Director of Finance
Ms Mary-Jo O’Brien, Corporate Communications Manager
Ms A. Shiell, Corporate Governance Officer
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Ms S. Stewart, Ms C. Wilkinson, Mr D. Cameron (Acting Associate Director, Finance and Corporate Resources) and Mr D. McLeod (SGHSCD).
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest in relation to the items on the agenda.
3. CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Reference was made to Malcolm Wright’s recent decision to resign as Chief Executive of NES in order to take up post as the new permanent Chief Executive at NHS Grampian. The Chair indicated that she would write to Malcolm to pass on the Board’s best wishes for the future.
It was noted that the following people would be joining the meeting for specific agenda items:
· Lindsay Robertson, Deloitte (External Auditors): for agenda item 7b; and
· Dr Rob Farley, Healthcare Science Programme Director: for agenda item 8a.
4. CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT (NES/15/42)
The Acting Chief Executive introduced this report, which provided information and updates on a wide range of NES activity. The following particular items were highlighted:
· Following Malcolm Wright’s recent decision to resign as NES Chief Executive in order to take up post as the new permanent Chief Executive at NHS Grampian, an appointments committee (which mirrors the membership of the Remuneration Committee) has been set up to oversee the process for the appointment of a new Chief Executive for NES. On an associated point, Malcolm has been contacted to seek to identify a suitable date for a Board dinner to mark his departure from NES and bid him farewell.
· The presentation of the first series of NES STARS (Staff Thanks And Recognition Scheme) awards at the one-NES staff conference held in Edinburgh on 27th May 2015.
· The NES Staff Conference mentioned in the bullet point above had been well-received by the staff who attended, with many useful connections made across the organisation.
· Two foundation dentists won Voluntary Service Awards at the NHS Lothian Celebrating Success Awards 2014.
· The 5th annual Scottish Medical Education Conference, held on 27th to 28th April 2015, had been very successful and very well-attended.
· NES and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland ran a joint conference on 26th May 2015 to discuss the progress being made by NHS Boards in implementing Prescription for Excellence across Scotland.
· The recent establishment, by Scottish Government, of a Transformational Change Programme Board and a NHS Scotland Senior Leaders Forum. Caroline Lamb is a member of this Forum. The membership of the Programme Board includes the CEO of Inclusion Scotland and this Board will put in place processes for engagement with a wide range of groups, using existing structures, where possible.
· It has been decided that NHS NSS will provide the programme management of the Shared Services workstream. The issue of seeking to identify a Lead Employer for medical and dental trainees has been de-coupled from the Shared Services workstream and is being actively discussed with SGHSCD. Discussions on the Lead Employer issue are also ongoing with the BMA in Scotland.
· NES has developed a HAI awareness resource pack, which was launched by the Cabinet Secretary at the recent NHSScotland conference.
· NES involvement in the current review of Clinical and Educational Psychology Training in England.
Members discussed the paper and the following points emerged:
i. Attention was drawn to concerns over the fact that a significant number of medical graduates choose not to proceed to postgraduate medical training in the UK.
ii. It was clarified that the demonstration of the impact of the Delivering the Future succession planning programme, referred to on page 11 of the paper, is based on a historical comparison.
iii. It was confirmed that all four UK countries are keen to proceed with the introduction of an ACT-type levy whereby overseas students would contribute towards their undergraduate placement costs.
iv. It is understood that the Scottish Government still has an appetite for ‘once for Scotland’ initiatives, as referenced by the Finance Secretary at the recent NHSScotland conference.
v. Caroline Lamb drew attention to the Corporate Risk Register, which had been updated to reflect the discussions at the Board Planning Day in May 2015, and which had resulted in the identification of the top risks facing NES over the next 5 years. Members agreed that two of these top risks should be re-worded in more positive terms. Action: CL
5. MINUTES OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH BOARD MEETING
(NES/15/40)
Subject to the correction of a minor typographical error in item 8b on page 4, the minutes of the Board meeting held on 23rd April 2015 were approved. Action: DJF
6. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
There were no matters arising which did not feature elsewhere on the agenda.
7. GOVERNANCE AND PERFORMANCE ITEMS
a. Audit Committee: 10th June 2015 (NES/15/43)
The Board received and noted the unconfirmed minutes and a summary of this meeting, which were introduced by Doreen Steele, in the absence of the committee chair, Carole Wilkinson.
The Audit Committee’s recommendations from this meeting would be considered during the course of agenda item 7b below.
b. Annual Accounts 2014-15
(i) External Audit Report on 2014-15 Accounts and Letter of Representation
(NES/15/44)
Mr Lindsay Robertson, Deloitte, was welcomed to the meeting for this item.
The Board received the external auditors’ final report to the Board and the Auditor General on the 2014-15 Audit. This report was introduced by Mr Robertson, who emphasised the following points:
· There have been no changes to the audit plan presented originally.
· All financial targets have been met.
· Issues relating to dilapidations provision and pension scheme buy-out have been dealt with appropriately.
· One presentational point has been noted and addressed.
· The financial challenges which NES would face in 2015-16 and 2016-17 were acknowledged.
· An unmodified audit opinion has been issued and the Board was given an assurance that the Annual Accounts for 2014-15 were correct and accurate for sign-off.
The Board was pleased to receive and note the positive External Audit Report on the 2014-15 Accounts.
The final version of the Letter of Representation to the external auditors was tabled. The Appendix to this letter described one misstatement, although Mr Robertson confirmed that this was a purely presentational point, with no cash impact.
As recommended by the Audit Committee at its meeting on 11th June, the Letter
of Representation to the external auditors was approved for signature by the Accountable Officer, on behalf of the Board. Action: AMcC
(ii) Annual Report from Audit Committee and Governance Statement (NES/15/45)
In the absence of the Audit Committee Chair, Carole Wilkinson, Caroline Lamb introduced the Audit Committee’s Annual Report to the Board for the year ended 31st March 2015 and the recommendations on the Governance Statement. This report had been approved by the Audit Committee on 11th June.
It was confirmed that the Audit Committee was satisfied that it had adequately discharged the responsibilities delegated to it by the Board during 2014-15. It was also confirmed that the Audit Committee was satisfied that the full range of sources of assurance, including the annual reports of each of the Board’s governance committees, enable it to recommend to the Board and to the Accountable Officer (the Acting Chief Executive) that the Governance Statement, set out in the Audit Committee’s annual report, should be included in the Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15.
On the recommendation of the Audit Committee, the Board approved the Governance Statement for signature by the Acting Chief Executive and inclusion in the Annual Accounts for 2014-15. Action: AMcC
(iii) Annual Report and Accounts for year ended 31st March 2015 (NES/15/46)
Audrey McColl introduced the Annual Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2015, which had been scrutinised by the external auditors and approved by the Audit Committee at its meeting on 11th June 2015. The following points were highlighted:
· The annual accounts have been audited externally and scrutinised by the Audit Committee.
· All amendments notified by the deadline of 23rd June 2015 have been incorporated.
· Attention was drawn to an adjustment made to Note 4 on page 57.
The Annual Accounts for 2014-15 were approved by the Board and arrangements would be made for copies to be signed by the Board’s representatives and the external auditors.
Action: AMcC
The Chair acknowledged the significant amount of work involved in producing the annual accounts and conveyed the Board’s thanks to the Audit Committee, Audrey McColl, Janice Sinclair and the Finance team.
Caroline Lamb advised that the annual accounts would not be made public until they had been laid before Parliament.
c. Educational & Research Governance Committee: 29th April 2015 (NES/15/47)
The Board received and noted the unconfirmed minutes and a summary of this meeting, which were introduced by Dr Andrew Tannahill.
Attention was drawn to the committee’s view that future committee annual reports should contain additional information on how the work of the committee has made a difference. This point will be taken into account by the Audit Committee in its forthcoming review of the guidance on preparing committee annual reports.
d. Staff Governance Committee: 6th May 2015 (NES/15/48)
The Board received and noted the unconfirmed minutes and a summary of this meeting, which were introduced by Murray Duncanson.
It was suggested that it may be useful for non-executive Board members to attend future corporate induction sessions to describe their roles on the Board.
e. Finance & Performance Management Committee: 21st May 2015 (NES/15/49)
The Board received and noted the unconfirmed minutes and a summary of this meeting, which were introduced by Dr Lindsay Burley.
f. Organisational Performance Report (NES/15/50)
Audrey McColl introduced a paper providing an overview of NES’s performance against its Local Delivery Plan (LDP) and Local Operational Plans (OP) for the fourth quarter of the reporting year 2014-15. The following points were highlighted:
· The full performance reports have been reviewed by the Finance and Performance Management Committee.
· The report presents the position as at 31st March 2015.
· The Exception Reporting in section 3 of the paper highlights those ‘Red’ targets which have significant risks attached. It is hoped that the presentation of this material will be enhanced by the time the next quarterly performance report is brought to the Board.
· Attention was drawn to the two ‘Red’ targets relating to RRHEAL which appear in the Operational Plan. It was noted that these targets had been carried forward into 2015-16 and that, following the establishment of the Single Deanery, the capacity issues affecting the RRHEAL workstream should be addressed through a more flexible approach to resource utilisation.
The Board noted and was content with NES’s current performance.
g. Remuneration Committee: 28th May 2015 (NES/15/51)
The Board received and noted a summary of this meeting, which was introduced by Dr Lindsay Burley.
It was understood that the effective date of Malcolm Wright’s resignation as Chief Executive would be 31st July 2015.
It was noted that, following changes to the Pharmacy Directorate reporting structure in the light of Professor Rose Marie Parr’s recent resignation from the Director post, consideration is being given to the job description of the lead Pharmacy post in NES for the future.
h. Caldicott Guardian: Annual Report to the Board (NES/15/52)
Professor Stewart Irvine introduced a paper providing the background to the Caldicott requirements and presenting a summary of NES’s compliance with Caldicott over the 2014 calendar year. The following points were highlighted:
· The Caldicott requirements relate to the proper handling of Patient Identifiable Information (PII) and NES’s default position is to avoid holding or processing PII.
· The paper outlined the assurance measures put in place by NES, as well as processes for managing PII securely for recognised exceptions.
· Frank Rankin, Information Governance Manager, was thanked for his help in collating this paper.
In response to a question from one of the members, Professor Irvine advised that it is the organisation responsible for clinical care, rather than the employing authority, which has the responsibility for the handling of PII.
The following detailed points were raised and these will be taken on board, as appropriate.
Action: DSI
· There is no reference to an annual improvement plan, although this has been raised previously.
· Should a wider range of professional groups be included in the review?
· There appear to be inconsistencies in the ways in which the NES Directorates’ levels of assurance in relation to attention to the Caldicott Principles are expressed throughout the report.
· Conclusions have not been included in relation to the Pharmacy and Psychology Directorates.
· Should the guidelines mentioned in the Dentistry section of the report be adapted and issued in relation to all professional groups?
· A minor amendment was proposed to the wording of the second sentence in the brief introductory paragraph in section 2, page 3, of the report.
The Board noted the level of risk associated with the management of Patient Identifiable Information (PII) within the clinical directorates of NES.
i. Annual Report of the Board (NES/15/53)
Caroline Lamb introduced a paper presenting the Annual Report of the Board to the Board for approval. The report set out how the Board had discharged its remit and responsibilities during 2014-15.