Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scottish government could intervene in NHS Orkney over ‘deteriorating financial performance’

The board has been moved to level three of government's Scotland Support and Intervention Framework.

NHS Orkney
Health officials from NHS Orkney have apologised following a data breach affecting patients on Stronsay.

The Scottish Government could intervene in the running of NHS Orkney due to the financial hardships the health authority is facing.

The board of NHS Orkney has been moved to level three of the recently published NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework.

This was confirmed today by NHSO chief executive Laura Skaife-Knight.

There are five levels in the support and intervention framework. Stage three will mean the Scottish Government undertaking “significantly enhanced support and scrutiny” of NHS Orkney.

Ms Skaife-Knight said the situation has come about due to the isles health authority’s “deteriorating financial position”.

If the situation doesn’t improve, NHS Orkney could be moved on to the next levels of the government’s framework.

This would mean reporting directly to a Scottish Government assurance board.

Beyond that, the Scottish Government could exercise “Ministerial powers of intervention.”

During an NHS Orkney board meeting near the end of October, members said there would be difficult decisions ahead.

NHS Orkney reached its projected year-end overspend within six months

This was in light of the health body having passed its projected year-end overspend of £3.1million within the first six months of this financial year.

Reacting to the news Ms Skaife-Knight said: “We have this week received confirmation from the Scottish Government that we have been moved to the first stage of formal escalation due to our deteriorating financial performance, which we have updated our local community on in recent months.

“The board has been moved to level three of the recently published NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework, which is the first stage of formal escalation as a result of the deviation from our agreed financial plan for the year.

“This is not where we would wish to be, however, we see escalation as a much-needed intervention and an opportunity to ensure we see the improvements that are necessary so that our financial position can be recovered and so that we move to more sustainable solutions and ways of working.

She added: “We will fully embrace this process. We will welcome the additional national support NHS Orkney will receive.

“The details of this remain under discussion and are being worked through.”

Of Scotland’s 14 territorial health boards, six currently sit at stage three or higher.

These are:

  • NHS Ayrshire and Arran
  • NHS Borders
  • NHS Forth Valley
  • NHS Highland
  • NHS Orkney
  • NHS Tayside

Conversation