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Notes of the meeting held on Wednesday 9th January 2013 at 5:30pm in the Community Room, LCH

Present:Ross Mackenzie (RM)District Manager, Caithness & Sutherland

Christian Goskirk (CG)Quality Improvement Lead

Mary Nicol (MN)Golspie Community Council

Marion Sutherland (MS)Night Sister, Cambusavie Unit

Alan Tubb (AT)Health Voices Rep

Ishbel Clarkson (IC)League of Friends

Campbell Port (CP)Golspie Community Council

Lorraine Coe (LC)Community Hospitals Development Manager

Cllr Deirdre Mackay (DM)Highland Councillor

Maimie Thompson (MT)Head of Public Relations & Engagement

Charlotte Gibson (CGn)East Sutherland Community Care Forum

Carl Lemkes (CL)Sutherland Access Panel

Gerry Lemkes (GL)Friends of Cambusavie

Mary MacRae (MM)League of Friends

Action
1. / Welcome & Apologies
AH welcomed all to the meeting.
Apologies were noted form
Allison Mackay (AMac)Charge Nurse, LMH
Kathleen Cunningham (KC)League of Friends, LMH
Lee Bright (LB)Brora Community Council
Tom Davidson (TD)Communications Manager
Ivor Campbell (ICll)Estates Officer
Dr Janet Mair (JM)Clinical Lead for Community Hospitals, Sutherland
Catherine Sutherland (CS) Brora Community Council
Marie McIlwraith (MMc) Scottish Health Council
2. / Notes of the meeting of 5th December 2012
Present: Mary Nicol (MN) was recorded as present but had given apologies as had Charlotte Gibson (CGn).
Subject the above correction the notes of the meeting held on 5th Dec 2012 were approved.
3. / Matters Arising (not otherwise on the Agenda)
Communication – RM confirmed that TD has forwarded press releases etc to VGES and CVS North for their e-bulletins.
Artwork – RM said that the painting by the late Steve MacGruer which had been on display in the Day Room at the Cambusavie Unit has been moved to the outpatient unit. It is intended to return it to the inpatient area when building work is complete. GL highlighted concerns that the painting may be sold. RM said that there are no plans to sell it. AT noted that a number of pieces of art which used to be in the outpatients department were removed some time back. Will these be restored he asked. LC said she would look into it. / LC
4. / Update on Progress
RM said that work has progressed well. The unit was closed for slightly longer than had been anticipated but that it was due to reopen on 10th January ’13. All inpatients (15) will be transferred across, with 18 beds available. From Monday 14th Jan there will be 22 beds. A Building Warrant has been applied for, for Change of Use for the Day Room, which will house the remaining three beds and a kitchen.
GL asked about the split between the GP and rehab beds. RM said that there was no physical split between the beds. When all building work is complete there will be 24 beds: 14 rehab beds and 11 GP beds but there will be a degree of flexibility around that. The nursing teams will work together as one.
LC said that it had been decided to provide a second treatment room at the entrance to the inpatient area. As people enter the building reception there will be a reception area with the PCEC to the right. The additional treatment room is to the left. New automatic doors at the entrance and between the PCEC area and the inpatient area are to be installed in the next weeks.
It was noted that temporary signage has been put up. NHS Highland is working with the Sutherland Access Panel on the final signage.
Name
CP said that since the last meeting where it at felt appropriate to rename the units as the Lawson Community Hospital he had had a number of contacts from members of the community who are not happy with the name change. DM said that from her perspective the inclusion of the word community reflects the significant developments which have taken place not just in the last few weeks but in the last couple of years. It reflects the community aspect of the hospital now however she recognised that this hadn’t gone down well in all quarters and suggested that there needed to be some work done with the community to highlight the reasons behind the name change and to get their feedback. It was agreed that issue should be discussed with the Community Councils. RM offered to attend to discuss. / RM
5. / Next Steps
The Building Warrant was applied for in December. It is expected to take approx six to eight weeks to come through. When work on former day room is complete that will be phase 1 of the project complete.
With regards phase 2 of the project RM said no capital allocation has as yet been made, this is because NHS Highland has not yet received its capital allocation from the Scottish Government; however he stressed that there was a commitment to complete the project. In terms of taking forward phase 2 provisional work around plans, room layouts etc
6. / Timescales
As noted above there are no firm timescales for phase 2 and 3 of the project. Preparatory work on phase 2 will begin on completion of phase 1. There is a commitment from NHS Highland to complete the project.
7. / Communication
MT confirmed that she will provide an update for the Northern Times following this meeting. A copy of the press release will also go to the Press & Journal. As discussed previously a copy of the press release will be forwarded to VGES and CVS North
8. / AOCB
Opening – GL asked if there were any plans to formally open the new inpatient area. LC said that she was due to discuss the opening of the Greenspace with the Lord Lieutenant and would raise the prospect of a joint opening.
Landing Lights – RM said that following a donation from the Sutherland Provincial Lodge a set of landing lights for the Air Ambulance has been purchased. For various reasons the ambulance will not land at the Lawson but will land in the car park at the Free Church of Scotland in Golspie supported by the Fire Brigade.
Hospital Site Entrance – It was noted that there had been complaints about the state of the entrance to the hospital site. There a number of pot holes some of them quite deep. There was concern that cars may be damaged. RM agreed to raise the issue with estates.
Lighting – GL asked if as part of the work there were any plans to improve the lighting in the car parks. RM said that funding was available from the Scottish Government to change to LED lights which will significantly improve things. This will be done in the near future. / LC
RM
9. / DONM
The next meeting will take place on 6thFebruary 2013 at 5:30pm in the Community Room, Lawson Community Hospital, Golspie

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