Culture progress sees NHS Highland escalation eased
NHS Highland will no longer receive extra government support in leadership, governance or culture, following improvements after the Sturrock review.
The board was initially escalated to Stage 3 of NHS performance escalation framework in 2018 following concerns of a culture of workforce bullying and harassment.
An independent report by John Sturrock QC, commissioned by the Scottish government, confirmed “fear, intimidation and inappropriate behaviour” and called for wide-ranging changes.
The Healing Process was created in response, with an independent review panel established to speak to victims of bullying and come up with recommendations for the health board to make improvements.
A total of 272 current and former NHS Highland and local health and social care partnership staff provided testimony between 2019 and March this year, with more than £2.8m paid out to those affected by bullying.
Concerns were raised by some of the first people to go through the healing process that the system was “broken” and many victims could end up “bitterly disappointed”.
The board has also established systems and processes to allow colleagues to speak up in the wake of the Sturrock Review, including an independent Guardian Service and staff training in Courageous Conversations.
NHS Highland was handed oversight of its own escalation and de-escalation, rather than a Scottish government-led oversight group, in November 2021.
Following a letter of assurance from the board chair earlier this year, the Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, Caroline Lamb, agreed to the de-escalation in September.
Independent progress tracking shows the board has delivered significantly against many actions laid out by the review but the board concluded in its final June update that ‘culture change is not yet embedded at all levels of our organisation’.
Source: Health and Care Scotland, 2023