NHS board told to maintain improvements by Health Secretary

Health Secretary Neil Gray has said that improvements made at a Scottish NHS board must be maintained.

He spoke out after the Scottish Government confirmed NHS Forth Valley is being moved down the scale in terms of the level of support required.

It comes after concerns about the health board had led to it being put in stage four of the health service’s National Performance Framework for Governance, Leadership and Culture in November 2022.

Mr Gray confirmed on Thursday that NHS Forth Valley – which has only one hospital with A&E capacity, the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert – has made “considerable progress” and is now being moved to stage three.

The change will come in from October 1, and will mean that the health board no longer requires the formal, direct oversight of the assurance board which has been in place since November 2022 and will now be stood down.

The Health Secretary said: “Following considerable progress against measures outlined in their improvement plan, it is encouraging the Scottish Government are now able to move NHS Forth Valley to stage three on the Support and Intervention Framework.

“The board has provided evidence of tangible and sustainable improvements across the three areas they were escalated for: leadership, culture, and governance.”

Mr Gray added: “This is a step forward, however it is vital improvements made are sustained and the board continues to prioritise delivery of actions now being monitored as business as usual.”

Neena Mahal, interim chairwoman of NHS Forth Valley, said the move recognised “the considerable progress that has been made to strengthen and improve leadership, culture, and governance across the organisation”.

She added: “We recognise, however, there is more to do to ensure we maintain and build on the changes and improvements made over the last two years and we will continue to work closely with Scottish Government colleagues to monitor progress going forward.”