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neilsermk1
10-Dec-14, 01:35
Not only is there to be a cessation of out of the hours emergency surgery service at Caithness General next week. I hear there is also a plan to close the Queen Elizabeth ward which is dire need of repair and transfer utilise the beds in the Henderson wing when they finish the maternity service in the every near future.
I can think of a few over the years who would not be around had it not been for the skill of the emergency surgeons and maternity service at Wick.
Its a disgrace that the overpaid bean counters in their superannuated positions can try to foist this kind of service on us. The decision makers within the trust probably don't have to rely on this sub standard service living within close proximity to Inverness.

Fran
10-Dec-14, 01:57
Maternity will not be affected. Its only because a surgeon has retired and they have advertised for new surgeon and new consultant. It is temporary.

weeker2014
10-Dec-14, 09:37
Not only is there to be a cessation of out of the hours emergency surgery service at Caithness General next week. I hear there is also a plan to close the Queen Elizabeth ward which is dire need of repair and transfer utilise the beds in the Henderson wing when they finish the maternity service in the every near future.I can think of a few over the years who would not be around had it not been for the skill of the emergency surgeons and maternity service at Wick.Its a disgrace that the overpaid bean counters in their superannuated positions can try to foist this kind of service on us. The decision makers within the trust probably don't have to rely on this sub standard service living within close proximity to Inverness.No i'm pretty sure it was made at local level and sometimes tough decisions have to be made in the shorter term good. I would prefer a few out of hours went to ness rather than a reduction in day time services.It would seem you are a bit jealous of superannuated positions!

cherokee
11-Dec-14, 21:00
Having read our local Newspaper:

I have to say I find it absolutely reprehensible and disgusting that we could even begin to comprehend a "Caithness" without surgeons being able to save a life, (albeit "during the night which we try to avoid") in any and every situation that this county should, God forbid, and even more so be it an emergency!!!!

My brother, many years ago, was brought into hospital (Wick, Bignold) where he was basically put to a bed by the ( obviously unconcerned ) nurses, although he was literally screaming in agony.

Thank God that the surgeon happened to be doing his rounds a couple of hours later . . . the surgeon's very words were, "An emergency "appendectomy" NOW !!" . . .

After his emergency operation my brother was then put on a drip, due to blood poisoning, through the fact that his appendix had ruptured !!!

God forbid that this scenario should "play-out" again through the lack of surgeons !!!!

The SURGEON'S decision, at that time, saved my brother's life.. . . . . . .

starfish
11-Dec-14, 21:33
in last week paper a court officail said i quote that in today society it is inhumane to expect a person to travel from polmount to wick a round trip of 12 hours , yet the same society expects a person to travel 9hours round trip on a train or over 5 hours on a bus for a 10 minute appointment at raigmore , now they say that if you are ill overnight you are expected to travel 100 miles to be treated , i think the said society have got this grossly wrong . but then we know who has more rights.

cesare
11-Dec-14, 21:55
i was going to read but then noticed the angry smiley and decided not to bother reading a rant

grumpyhippo
12-Dec-14, 12:12
Maternity will not be affected. Its only because a surgeon has retired and they have advertised for new surgeon and new consultant. It is temporary.


Your correct in your statement that it is only the surgical side is affected at the moment. If you read the piece in the Courier ( the panel below the report about the surgeons) note the bit that said the Bignold would move to the Henderson wing and maternity services would be on the top floor. If patients from the Bignold are going to occupy the Henderson there's not much more space left on the top floor of the hospital. The logical conclusion is that the maternity service will be contracting. I hope that what seemed to be speculation in the Courier will not turned out to be true but I suspect that what ever the source of the article it would not have been published without the editor doing some level of confirmatory investigation.

DMFB
13-Dec-14, 09:10
Times are getting hard this is true and no matter what the speculation is as my mother always said theres no smoke without fire if management get away with whats being proposed ALL departments will be affected even maternity.

Bigonlds taking up maternity space then where will maternity go obviously somewhere much smaller as there is hardly space left in the hospital its either being closed or has been taken over as offices.Theyre saving money by not having an overnight on call service are they still going to be using locums but just between the hours of nine to five because the one remaining consultant cannot possibly be the only one covering the wards. this means at five oclock there is possibly a consultant available to cover just being kept warm and comfy in a local hotel its all money money money and lack of it.
What happens if after six oclock theres a major incident in the county the hospital wont have an on call surgeon to assess the poor victims as it will be just the poor junior doctor with the nurses and maybe the input from the oncall anaesthetist medical consultant and not forgetting a gynae conultant !! But should they be doing this when their remit is not surgical each to their own. What if during the evening a patient on the surgical ward now in the henderson ward becomes ill during the noght who does the n call junior doctor call for advice ??? the oncall gynae hmmm who will nake the decision whether this patient needs to be transferred or can stay until the morning ...??? Inverness on call surgeons or registrars bet theyre going to be happy about extra work because of wick. I feel sorry for the poor junior doctor up here who should have the ability to call in someone more senior to support them in their field. This is a recipe for disaster and until there is a disaster( someone dying due to this decision ) or people voice their oppinions then it will go ahead.
It makes this hosiptal a very unnatractive place to come for potential candidates with all this uncertanty around services management are making a bigger recruiting rod for their own back.

If this all goes ahead I can garuantee it wont be temporary it will be the first step on a slippery slope to the downgrading of this hospital to no more than a passing through point to inverness.

Terrible terrible decision!!




.

Scunner
13-Dec-14, 10:43
I heard, repeat only heard, that staff were individually interviewed, and asked if they had reported the decision to the press. Strange!!!!!!!

I recall that a decision was made to close the Dunbar in Thurso but pressure was applied and the
Dunbar remains open. Also other parts of the hospital were to be downgraded.

Just who is making these dreadful decisions? I would love to.know.

poppett
13-Dec-14, 10:56
DMFB has hit the nail square on the head.

The rocky, slippery slope indeed.

DMFB
13-Dec-14, 13:38
The people making these decisions are members of managemnet in CGH who in turn answer to more senior members of management inRaigmore. They are obviously charged with delivering a service with the set amount of money made available from again Raigmore management. Now the tricky bit with only so much money which wont cover what locals would like and indeed need they decide to redesign services nice new buzz word getting fired around. Moving things forward but at the same time backwards if you get what i mean.It is a very slippy slope and a very dangerous place to be. More shame on management by the way for allowing the QE to fall into such a state of disrepair that such drastic action is rumoured to be happening and again shame on management if they have as rumoured been trying to find out who spoke to the press. Does it matter? its not something thats a secret now is it? as its going to affect the wider public. I wonder if as according to rumour its true that at least one member of the management making these decisions on the cuts isnt even going to be retiring and living the rest of her dottage years in Caithness like myself and others are going to have to. Sad times ahead for Caithness if we dont stand up and demand a decent service.
Wonder how the poor ambulance men feel about being used as glorified taxis constantly eh ??

neilsermk1
13-Dec-14, 22:02
i was going to read but then noticed the angry smiley and decided not to bother reading a rant
You are darned right I am angry, spitting furiously angry.

starfish
13-Dec-14, 22:39
if i remember when dr shallcross left he said that the hospital would be down sized i think he must have know something and thats why he jumped ship

Fran
14-Dec-14, 01:57
Why do people think the worst and jump to conclusions. The hospital advertised for a surgeon but none of the applicants were suitable so they will advertise again. It is only temporary like the dialysis patients travelling to Inverness three days a week till we got a renal unit in wick.

starfish
14-Dec-14, 11:05
temporary like the dementia unit at the town and county thats not going to re open as a dementia unit again but was told it was temporary due to staffing problems 2 years ago

DMFB
14-Dec-14, 17:52
Why do people think the worst and jump to conclusions. The hospital advertised for a surgeon but none of the applicants were suitable so they will advertise again. It is only temporary like the dialysis patients travelling to Inverness three days a week till we got a renal unit in wick.

Oh Fran Im not so sure that people are jumping to conclusions here. You say the hospital management advertised but no one was suitable for the post was this according to the same hospital management who according to the groat are thinking of moving the bignold to the hederson ward making it a smaller unit and even more less likely to attract consultants. How lucrative are management making this post to prospective candidates to entice them north ? remember its a national problem according to the papers. Also they did in the past state the town and county was a temporary closure and it turned out to be pemenant how convenient as that has now left space for some of the queen elizabeth patients according to the paper? to be honest i am starting to trust the paper not the management.
As for the renal patients as far as i can remember there never was a service here thats why they travelled now that there is if you were to say to them start travelling again im darn sure they would be happy.
Centralisation once again and Caithness taking a loss of services whilst raigmore still has money thrown at it !

DMFB
14-Dec-14, 17:57
I heard, repeat only heard, that staff were individually interviewed, and asked if they had reported the decision to the press. Strange!!!!!!!

I recall that a decision was made to close the Dunbar in Thurso but pressure was applied and the
Dunbar remains open. Also other parts of the hospital were to be downgraded.

Just who is making these dreadful decisions? I would love to.know.

WHy should management be hunting out the member of staff who spoke to the ppress this is wrong Management themselves should at every point be keeping the public informed as it is us the public who have to live with their ill thought out decisions.

Obviously the people making these decisions have the pennies in their heads more than the patients of that im convinced.

elastic band
14-Dec-14, 19:33
There is absolutely no doubt that services are being downgraded -let's not forget the huge overspend ! How else do they plan to save money ? In addition, I would like to know what is going to happen at Dunbar which is our local hospital -our family have used this fantastic hospital for more years than i care to remember and have nothing but praise for the professional, high class care we have always received. Our parents, ourselves and children alike have used their services -casualty has been a regular haunt of ours from minor ailments to other more serious matters which i have to say were responded to by the fantastic knowledge and skill of the nurses concerned. We have been treated by nurses with a wealth of experience and knowledge, qualifications including degrees and being able to prescribe medicines and give very, very detailed advice and support.

Sadly my in-laws required their palliative care rooms and we were treated with love, care, respect and professionalism every visit and talked through what could happen at each stage -our family will never forget the kindness every one of the staff showed us all. Nothing was ever too much trouble and tears were dried, hands were held and they listened to us when they were rushed off their feet but never, ever were we made to feel they didn't have time for us.

Let's not forget that we are talking about people here whether it be patients, relatives and worried families or wonderful, caring professional staff who turn up day after day after day to look after our loved ones -NHS cradle to grave -it seems we are heading in a direction where we are now going to be unable to support either -or those in between.

I want my family to be cared for by true professionals within their own community hospital -those that have stood by us -stood up for us and cared for us -now it's our turn to do the same for them.

Where are all our politicians now ? save money by all means but not at the detriment of the heart of our community -is that not the true measure of a civilized society. Do we need so many managers, did they really need to call in management consultants -to do what exactly and what has happened to all the local public meetings all of a sudden. Next time you are ill -who is going to care for you and where ?

The Sutherland Family -plus in-laws and those who are no longer in a position to speak for themselves

DMFB
14-Dec-14, 19:48
Downgrading thank you elastic band that was the word I was looking for but couldnt remember when I was posting earlier. I am so confusedby all this talk from management. From what I understand there is only one full time surgeon here at present the rest of the service has been given by using locums. Now heres where im going with my thougths on this. Is it just the one consultant who is going to provide all the cover during the day or is it with the help of a couple oflocum consultants? When will this poor chap ever get a day of or a holiday.If the locum consultants are here anyway why cant they cover through the night as has been happening they are here they are staying locally ? Is it because it costs a lot of money I would bet that is whats behind this decision to stop 24 hour cover but I am not a betting man ? Is it a case of it can be done but management want to save money ?

poppett
15-Dec-14, 11:04
There is a petition on facebook which once signed says it will be on Caithness.org too, but I can`t find it here

starfish
15-Dec-14, 11:47
it is on caithness .org on the forum page at the top

DMFB
15-Dec-14, 12:44
I noticed the link and had a look and signed the petition. I bet management are closely following this one given that even their own staff are speaking out against this move and signing the petition. A step too far and in my oppinion a step in the wrong direction backwards not forwards. I wonder how they are going to retrace their steps and make this mess right. This may be voiced as a temporary move but lately all things temporary seem to have been permenant . Theyve known since ages they had someone retiring and the other consultant left months ago I still reckon they saw this as a way of saving money no matter what anyone else says.[evil]

Kenn
16-Dec-14, 00:57
I spent many months researching how NHS Highland were spending their money and was horrified to find that £4,000,000 was being spent re-imbursing folk traveling to Raigmore, I was also shocked that there were no figures for the amount it was costing for ambulances/air transfers to hospitals out with the county.This despite requests under The Freedom of Information Act.
I am now advised that Holyrood has been withholding funds from NHS Highland and using them to try and bolster those hospitals that have problems in the central belt.
I tried to ascertain how much it was costing for locums to work in general practice and again hit a brick wall. I am well aware of at least one GP selling a practice and then working weekend cover earning more for 3 nights than would normally been paid for 3 weeks.
This has to stop, for too long those in the far north have recieved services that are far from adequate.
Despite all the rumours, there is life north of Inverness.

starfish
16-Dec-14, 09:30
i can well beleive these figures because i was down raigmore with a child and out of the 12 the dr was seeing only 1 can from inverness the rest was from up here and we all got 40.00 fot travelling expenses that kust one clinic on one afteroon just think how many clinics go on in 1 week.

Blackbird
16-Dec-14, 12:38
https://www.change.org/p/shona-robison-re-instate-and-continue-to-maintain-24-hour-emergency-surgery-services-at-caithness-general-hospital-wick

This is a direct link to the petition. I've signed it, everyone should sign it, get your friends to sign it. Once a service has gone it is the thin end of the wedge. We all live up here, we're entitled to the same services as the rest of the country. We've all paid our National Insurance. We cannot be silent on this. 100 miles is too far for emergency treatment, this could easily cost a life.

DMFB
16-Dec-14, 12:45
Lizz How does a GP sell a practice you have lost me here.?

neilsermk1
16-Dec-14, 22:56
No i'm pretty sure it was made at local level and sometimes tough decisions have to be made in the shorter term good. I would prefer a few out of hours went to ness rather than a reduction in day time services.It would seem you are a bit jealous of superannuated positions!
where do you get the jealous bit from? I just dont think the people making the decisions on the provision of service have the slightest consideration for the customers.
How many have personal objectives linked to performance pay awards for saving money by reducing services.

Kenn
17-Dec-14, 00:39
DMFB.... this was a practice run by a single doctor in a building that was wholely owned.

DMFB
17-Dec-14, 10:02
DMFB.... this was a practice run by a single doctor in a building that was wholely owned.

Ah Sorry Lizz you were meaning the building. I dont see a problem with this if this doctor decided to sell the building and use a different approach to working or a change of how they work. Let me ask a question if you could work in a different way earning as much money in a few days as you would earn in a week or even a month would you not consider it ? I would. When I worked I changed jobs and made decisions regarding my work for the benefit of me and my family. Every one does this.
This is a differnet issue and detracts from the real problem we have at the minute which is how to recruit and retain staff in the NHS and in our local hospital. How to get local management to fight our corner and not reduce services how to get the government to step in and protect our hospital.
I would hope that there is no perfirmance pay awards for saving money these managers are paid to manage and in no way should they be getting a bonus for doing their job. This clouds their judgement when it comes to making cuts. Do I cut this service for the benefit of getting a bonus because ive saved money or do i maintain this service for the benefit of the sick and needy and lose my bonus ? this makes me sick at the thought of it. Yes tough decisions have to be made but when they are making wrong decisions which affect lives then who are they to play GOD.

Kenn
17-Dec-14, 13:09
I would have serious doubts about the ethics of any doctor that does the above at the expense of the very patients they are supposed to help and it would be a challenge to my own although obviously as you say any such would have to be seriously considered.
I quite agree that managers should not be paid bonuses regardless of profession, they should be remunerated for the job at a salary commensurate with the occupation.
I would like to see at least one layer of management stripped out of The NHS and some serious logistics applied together with full accountability by non medical staff.
There are so many small, simple things that could be done to save money.
A case in point, since moving north, I have been written to every year with regard to the influenza vaccination and some years have received more than one such letter.
On the rare occasion I have needed a doctor I have asked that my notes are checked and that I am deleted from such mail , I have also written twice explaining that on medical advice I should not be given this.
This is just a minor thing but multiplied across the population the cost starts to escalate.
Another expense that could be seriously reduced occurs when visiting a hospital clinic and requiring a further appointment. Despite having all the necessary equipment at their fingertips, it is often a case that they have to notify by post and not there and then.
I could go on but you must be bored by now, so will stop !

DMFB
17-Dec-14, 21:02
Ah well here is where you and I have to to agree to differ on this one. I see no ehtical issue with a GP selling their practice building on and changing their employment status from permenant to locum. If this was the case then none of the consultants or doctors who leave a job where there may be problems thereafter would be able to move on in their career.Full accountability and no bonuses yes definitely within the NHS private sector it up to them.

Kenn
18-Dec-14, 00:55
It was purely a monetry move, that's what annoys me .
The employment of locums is costing The NHS dearly.

Dadie
18-Dec-14, 01:19
As starfish noted the travel expense forms to claim back "travel money" ...its not routinely highlighted or offered unless asked about ..
We had 2 big trips down to Raigmore before we found out about the travel money....and that annoyed me!
Plus the availability of Kyle court is a secret ....only get to know if you push for it if you have an early appt ..for a procedure..
Last trip down would have been a 2.5hr trip ea way, but a phonecall from the consultant that lasted 5 mins tops covered it so we didnt have to travel.
Why dont they use the video conferencing etc they have at Wick and keep things local.
Shoving everything straight to Raigmore isn't helping Caithness retain the facilities or keep the training up to date for staff.....in all aspects of hospital care.
Which leads to downgrading in all areas and a hospital that cannot meet the needs of people in bad weather as anything "complicated " is usually sent south.
We live in the North of Scotland and we get snow and high winds that stops the ambulance and the air ambulance setting off as its not safe.
What if a 3 car pile up happened at 8pm (multiple casualties) at the moment our hospital couldnt cope ....deaths that could have been avoided are going to be lost.

DMFB
18-Dec-14, 10:39
Callum Miller builds and sells houses purely from a monetary point of view. Lots of people make decisions in life from a monetary point of view as has this doctor seemingly or thats what we are assuming and the hospital has made a decision to not have surgical services beyond a certain time for more than one reason. I believe that also is from a monetary point of view.Its the age old saying money makes the world go round and that is what is happening. This hospital could have surgeons here if they made the post very attractive and that includes a salary to reflect the job not having it in line with all other jobs which to me are not the same as working in the HIghlands. London offers more money due to its cost of living why cant we due to our location ?

dontstop
19-Dec-14, 21:28
Totaly agree with dmfb,as iv said before there are to many admin in cgh,all of them full of importance and think they run the place then when something happens they try to pass the buck on someone who just said what the public needs to know. They should question themselves not the staff. Maybe they should question themselves about the situation rather let raigmore walk all over them. Stand up to them in Inverness and put our own people in Caithness A VOICE in what happening

starfish
19-Dec-14, 21:46
the trouble is up here is nhs are not give many people a full contract they seem to like 3 and 6 months . well to be honest who will want to give up a position and move family ect with out any garantee that they will keep you on once your3 or 6 months is up .

dontstop
19-Dec-14, 21:59
I think in the situation Cgh is in they should have a 3-5 year contract written in somewhere,maybe then more proffesional people might apply. Might be thats why they can use the excuse nobody applies for job,probably if the local people knew about this pityful contract they would see the reason no one want to come her. If only the manage could be honest with us it would help solve matters,we need to stand up to them sooner rather than later.

baileys Bhoy
19-Dec-14, 22:44
https://www.change.org/p/shona-robison-re-instate-and-continue-to-maintain-24-hour-emergency-surgery-services-at-caithness-general-hospital-wick?recruiter=154749235&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-no_msg&utm_content=af_fb_custom_message_autofill%3Acontro l

DMFB
20-Dec-14, 11:32
As we the members of the public are not in possession of the full facts only what we hear ont he grapevine we have to try to decide what we hear is true and what is fiction. If as is being suggested NHS are only handing out short term contract then I would be asking what is the bigger picture. This is being done for a reason and could this reason be because they are going to totaly change the hospital beyond what we know today. Is it going to not need all this staff in the future because the plan is to down grade and keep more folks out of hospital or shipped elsewher. I am sure i read inverness also cut beds at one point where does it all end. Offer staff a decent pay a decent contract and less meddling and chopping and changing by jumped up management who dont even work the shop floor or deal with the public and you might see a change for the better.Moral must be at a low in the hospital just now that wont be helping anyone.

starfish
20-Dec-14, 14:52
services are beeing cut all over , in recent months 2 patients were kept in cgh hospital until a heart bed come available in aberdeen and raigmore, i do not know what the goverment except us to do with patients when they have cut all our beds perhaps we should set up a ward in they extra houses that we help pay for

poppett
20-Dec-14, 16:01
Two years ago a relative was in CG and was sent to Raigmore regarding their heart problem. Raigmore doctors assessed him the next day and he was discharged to the lounge at the front entrance to wait until relatives could be informed to come and get him. To this day any mention of being taken to Raigmore is met with an extremely negative reply. He was readmitted the following day to CG where his treatment continued for three days before being discharged to home again.

Look what happened to Dunbar in Thurso over the years............used to be a proper hospital with operating theatres and visiting surgeons. Both my parents have had operations there, and a schoolfriend from high school her appendix removed.

I hope I am wrong, but can see CG becoming a nursing home if the powers that be get their way.

Fran
20-Dec-14, 22:37
Ambulances are not glorified taxis. There are emergency ambulances and patients transport and cars

starfish
21-Dec-14, 11:53
thats ok fran but what happens as it happen to my husband was rushed to raigmore with no coat or money then discharged late in the afternoon to late for transport home i do not drive had to ask a freind to drive down and back .no every one has a good freind they can call on.

poppett
21-Dec-14, 18:41
You seem to have missed the point Fran......I did not suggest the patient should have been transported home in an ambulance.............But he was discharged to the lounge in a hospital gown and no contact had been made with family about getting him home. Just by pure chance I phoned to ask how he was and was told he had already been discharged to the lounge and was waiting for us to come for him.

I understand your nightmare Starfish.

DMFB
21-Dec-14, 21:01
Actually the way the powers that be in our local hospital are heading Ambulances in the far north WILL become nothing more than glorified taxis will they not? Taking patient A downt the road taking patient B back up the road and so on. The moral of the staff involved in all these crazy decisions must be at an all time low.Many patients do find themselves suddenly 100 miles from home and then its up to the family to sort out how to get down to them and at times how to get them home again. But hey not the managements problem as theyve saveda few pound.

Kenn
22-Dec-14, 00:51
Any one notice the article in 'e Groats, where our MSP said he was not aware of a problem at Caithness General?
Is he playing Ostritch and hiding his head in the sand?

Fran
24-Dec-14, 00:43
I think you should join the patients council

Fran
24-Dec-14, 00:46
and now another consultant has resigned

DMFB
25-Dec-14, 01:12
I dont blame him for that as management cut back on the locums for the surgical patients and told the medical consultant when he was on call he would have to look after the surgical patients as well. Im sure this made him rethink his position in Wick rapidly. Im told he was the only remaining permanant consultant in the medical side and management effectively shafted him well done them. poor handling by managemnt i would say however this is nothing new.Its a complete and utter disaster and they are not handling it well or maybe they are maybe the long term goal is to create a crisis so that they can downgrade the hospital who knows but Im glad ive not long for this earth as its indeed worry times for folk living here.

DMFB
25-Dec-14, 01:18
Fran Im sorry to suggest but if management dont listen to their own staff the public and whats being written in the press I dont think they will listen to the patient council they have their own way of working and thats it !!

starfish
25-Dec-14, 12:09
the consultian that is now leaving will be a huge lose to cgh he has a good patient bed side manner that actullay cares about the patient and treats them as one of his own i will miss he and know others that will come on managerment take action before you yourselfs are out of a job too but then they wiull just move off and leave us up here with out a hospital

Mother Superior
25-Dec-14, 13:42
At this rate will the NHS disappear in Caithness? Raigmore seems to be about to become our local hospital! Yet, has that not been happening slowly anyway in recent times? Wick to Inverness must be a similar journey as say Perth to Inverness. Perhaps it could be suggested in Holyrood that all the elderly and sick Tayside folk will have to travel to Inverness for Consultant appointments and operations in future?

poppett
25-Dec-14, 15:12
During the worst November weather known to man a couple of years ago we set off from Thurso to attend a follow up appointment in Western General Hospital in Edinburgh where my husband was due to see his urological consultant the next day. We arrived at our accommodation just before midnight and were surprised the next day how quiet the clinic was. Mr D was due to see 24 patients, but only ourselves and a couple from Dundee and two men from Berwick upon Tweed turned up. All the rest of the appointments were cancelled by Edinburgh locals. Total waste of a surgeons time. Luckily the accommodation was available for us for another night and we were able to stay until the roads were slightly improved and even then had to spend the next again night in Inverness as the A9 was closed.

My husband would not be alive today if it was not for Mr D who offered pioneering surgery never before considered in the UK and we are grateful to him for that, but I would not want to relive the five years of travelling regularly for surgeries and treatment. Going to Inverness is a nightmare for old folks we need to fight to retain our services and improve life locally.

DMFB
26-Dec-14, 10:44
Any one notice the article in 'e Groats, where our MSP said he was not aware of a problem at Caithness General?
Is he playing Ostritch and hiding his head in the sand?

Lizz he doesnt seem to be aware of very much. Never seen him locally never hear from him never know what hes doing from one day to the next except lifting a handsome salary for representing us. If he doesnt know of a problem then he should maybe try speaking to his local SNP councillors in the area to make sure hes briefed on whats going on mind you maybe they all think theres not a problem who knows . Me I think theres a huge problem and its being handled or should I say misshandled terribly by the management.I wonder what disasterous news we will be hearing next whos next to go wishfully hoping it will be management but more likely it will be docotors or nurses shame on everyone for this mess.

DMFB
26-Dec-14, 10:47
At this rate will the NHS disappear in Caithness? Raigmore seems to be about to become our local hospital! Yet, has that not been happening slowly anyway in recent times? Wick to Inverness must be a similar journey as say Perth to Inverness. Perhaps it could be suggested in Holyrood that all the elderly and sick Tayside folk will have to travel to Inverness for Consultant appointments and operations in future?

Maybe we will be left with no hospital or at least not as we know it. Never mind the VET can maybe take over and start operating on us at this rate our chances of survival might be better. Imagine asking folks in the central belt to travel for hospital appointments or better still folks in Inverness I can already hear the outcry.It will be Highland clearances all over again. Everyone leaving to go to where at least we can get healthcare jobs etc.

Mother Superior
26-Dec-14, 12:34
I am just wondering If our Member of Parliament is aware that there is an election next May? Or does he not see the need to speak out for the interests of his constituents and his re-election will be automatic? Hmmm!

If there are any other candidates, or their party colleagues, opposing our current MP next May, and they are reading this thread, would they like to give their views on the situation at the CGH?

Mother Superior
26-Dec-14, 13:30
Reading back through the thread there appears to be some confusion surrounding which of our 'so called' representatives does not realise their is a problem at CGH and my previous post may have been unfair on our MP. So is it our Lib Dem MP or our SNP MSP who have their 'head in the sand'? Perhaps our Westminster MP has no interest in the NHS in Caithness because Westminster does not administer Scotland's NHS? So can we really blame him if he should be avoiding the CGH issue and deny him our trusted vote once again next May? But am I right in thinking that our MSP is a colleague of Scotland's Health Minister who has her tightly clenched hand on the purse strings? So could it therefore be argued that it is our MSP who has to ask himself whose interests he represents?

poppett
26-Dec-14, 19:56
Our MP John Thurso has his finger firmly on the pulse of the happenings at Caithness General. Just because he is not shouting about it from the rooftops does not mean he does not care or is not supporting his constituents to get us a fair deal.

Mr Gibson on the other hand...........head in sand.

Mother Superior
26-Dec-14, 21:27
Three Hail Marys for Mr Gibson I think.

neilsermk1
27-Dec-14, 00:38
Our MP John Thurso has his finger firmly on the pulse of the happenings at Caithness General. Just because he is not shouting about it from the rooftops does not mean he does not care or is not supporting his constituents to get us a fair deal.

Mr Gibson on the other hand...........head in sand.

You know this, how? John Thurso has been conspicuous by his absence in this very important local issue

Mother Superior
27-Dec-14, 14:54
Our MP John Thurso has his finger firmly on the pulse of the happenings at Caithness General. Just because he is not shouting about it from the rooftops does not mean he does not care or is not supporting his constituents to get us a fair deal.

Mr Gibson on the other hand...........head in sand.

It is good to learn that at least one of our representatives is working away quietly behind the scenes checking pulses at Caithness General and trying not to make too much fuss. Meanwhile, Caithness folk hope and pray that they will not need emergency surgery at a time inconvenient to the pen pushers in Inverness or our Health Minister in Holyrood. Many sensible folk, especially the elderly and infirm, will of course be considering placing their property on the market and heading south rather than put their lives at risk any longer.

DMFB
27-Dec-14, 22:16
Unfortunately for me and many other pensioners the option to upsticks and move is not one for us. I was born in this Wick and have watched it grow become prosperous and would hope to see everything still moving forward when I turn my toes upp and head out of this place. I am afraid that unless many people from lowly pensioners like mysself to more influential politiitions and councillors voice theirconcern at this outragous move by NHS bosses then Im leaving this life dissapointed. Im sorely disgusted at what I read in the papers however I feel management dont care to them its a case of do what we want to do because we have to.

gerry4
27-Dec-14, 22:50
Our MP John Thurso has his finger firmly on the pulse of the happenings at Caithness General. Just because he is not shouting about it from the rooftops does not mean he does not care or is not supporting his constituents to get us a fair deal.

Mr Gibson on the other hand...........head in sand.

I am not a great supporter of Rob Gibson but he is the only politician who has commented on it but only once. Thurso hardly ever speaks on any issues. The Labour candidate for 2015 GE should be jumping up & down about it, even if it just to 'show he cares'. The 3 prospective SNP MP candidates have not made it an issue. Not heard any of the List MSP's discussing it.

What does this mean? Maybe all of the parties could not give a hoot about Caithness?

Mother Superior
28-Dec-14, 12:23
I am not a great supporter of Rob Gibson but he is the only politician who has commented on it but only once. Thurso hardly ever speaks on any issues. The Labour candidate for 2015 GE should be jumping up & down about it, even if it just to 'show he cares'. The 3 prospective SNP MP candidates have not made it an issue. Not heard any of the List MSP's discussing it.

What does this mean? Maybe all of the parties could not give a hoot about Caithness?

I have not checked this out and am going by memory but a few years ago there was an uproar down in England over the withdrawal of A&E at a local hospital. A slightly different situation I know but still the withdrawal of a life saving service to the community nonetheless. Kidderminster I think. Didn't the sitting MP, and other candidates, sit on their hands? Anyway, a local Doctor who understood the risks the community was being subjected to decided to stand for election on a ticket to save the hospital services and he had a landslide victory at the General Election. Now I am not suggesting that a local Caithness Doctor should stand for election because we simply do not have any to spare! But maybe a retired Doctor or Healthcare worker? Could a Save Our Surgeons candidate win in May and end up holding the balance of power in Westminster and trumping Alex Salmond to boot? They will have my vote for starters!

DMFB
28-Dec-14, 12:46
I have not checked this out and am going by memory but a few years ago there was an uproar down in England over the withdrawal of A&E at a local hospital. A slightly different situation I know but still the withdrawal of a life saving service to the community nonetheless. Kidderminster I think. Didn't the sitting MP, and other candidates, sit on their hands? Anyway, a local Doctor who understood the risks the community was being subjected to decided to stand for election on a ticket to save the hospital services and he had a landslide victory at the General Election. Now I am not suggesting that a local Caithness Doctor should stand for election because we simply do not have any to spare! But maybe a retired Doctor or Healthcare worker? Could a Save Our Surgeons candidate win in May and end up holding the balance of power in Westminster and trumping Alex Salmond to boot? They will have my vote for starters!

I vaguely remember this story. I would say good idea in principle however its not only a case of save our sureons its a case for the NHS or should I say NHS Highland to get creative in a recruitment drive for doctors. For this to happen it needs to be someone employed within the clique that are Management who are the ones effectively making a muck of this as far as I can see but hey Im only an innocent potential victim should I need this service. We cannot save effectively whats not there and at this momment it is full time permanant surgeons and from what i hear now medical consultatnts too their last remaining permenant one according to rumour has also resigned? Latest rumour I heard is that if theres no full time permanant consultants to oversea the junior doctors then the junior doctors wont get to come her to train. Not sure if this one is true or not but if it is No doctors No hospital we can all go and whistle for healthcare and then the GPS will be impossile to get an appointment with. Not good thoughts today.

Mother Superior
28-Dec-14, 21:10
A quick trawl around our current and potential representative's websites shows no acknowledgement of any issues at the CGH!
MP John Thurso's website reveals a campaign to save Wick TA Centre and concerns for the Royal Mail. MSP Rob Gibson's website seems to be frozen in time from way back as has his twitter page which consists of nothing but retweets and nothing specific to his constituency. His facebook page however has a lot of fun pictures of himself and news of 1 or 2 social events but again nothing specific to his constituency! Our prospective labour MP John Erskine has a website and twitter page preoccupied with the bedroom tax and bashing the other parties but he has a refreshing facebook page which actually highlights some 'Far North' issues from his base near Inverness. The SNP do not yet appear to have a candidate for next May so no feedback from there. So have any of our current or potential representatives signed the Save Our Surgeons petition? Will any of them be putting their heads above the parapet?

starfish
28-Dec-14, 21:34
well do they care as they can get treatment else where i just hope that they do not need out of hours care while they are in the county. but they will say that it come from higher eg nhs spending but when you think of it hoilday cover come out of expenses and nursing staff being cut the extra bank staff being taken on out of budget , single use item s say i use a pair of scissors to cut of a name tag these have to be bin (single use only ) and sealed dressings out of date binned , how can a sealed bandage be out of date it would be dtfferent if it was to be use internally , but who many of us look at a plaster before we put it on at home and paying 9000.00 to have some one tell you what is already happening. consultan fees eg dundar and town and county we know that the town and county has had a dementia ward closed and will not open as such so why pay some one to tell the managerment this completely madness

DMFB
29-Dec-14, 22:00
A quick trawl around our current and potential representative's websites shows no acknowledgement of any issues at the CGH!
MP John Thurso's website reveals a campaign to save Wick TA Centre and concerns for the Royal Mail. MSP Rob Gibson's website seems to be frozen in time from way back as has his twitter page which consists of nothing but retweets and nothing specific to his constituency. His facebook page however has a lot of fun pictures of himself and news of 1 or 2 social events but again nothing specific to his constituency! Our prospective labour MP John Erskine has a website and twitter page preoccupied with the bedroom tax and bashing the other parties but he has a refreshing facebook page which actually highlights some 'Far North' issues from his base near Inverness. The SNP do not yet appear to have a candidate for next May so no feedback from there. So have any of our current or potential representatives signed the Save Our Surgeons petition? Will any of them be putting their heads above the parapet?

Are they staying quiet for fear of looking foolish. After all this is not a new problem we have been hearing for years about this.If they stick their heads in the sand maybe the crisis will be gone by the time they take their heads back out of it. Rob has been Gibson I certainly am not a fan off never have been hes never done anything for me in fact never seen the mand nor spoken to him.

Mother Superior
29-Dec-14, 22:25
I see the Royal Navy have a hospital ship called the Argus which is currently anchored off the West African coast supporting our wonderful doctors and health workers fighting ebola. Maybe when its tour of duty is finished the ship could redirect to Wick harbour as back up to the CGH. As a former nurse I would be glad to offer my services on the wards free of charge. I am sure our elected representatives would see this as a good photo opportunity and get down to the harbour to have a tour and meet the Captain and, who knows, a little cruise around the bay. I can just see the pictures now on Mr Gibson's facebook page.

DMFB
31-Dec-14, 10:36
Oh now dont be going giving the NHS a get out claus I can just see it now.I must go buy the paper to see what other doom and gloom stories there are about our poor hospital. Anyone got any updates or do I rely on good old Gossip.

Mother Superior
31-Dec-14, 13:19
Oh now dont be going giving the NHS a get out claus I can just see it now.I must go buy the paper to see what other doom and gloom stories there are about our poor hospital. Anyone got any updates or do I rely on good old Gossip.

I have to agree there is nothing the pen pushers like more than a get out clause. There favourite get out clauses are the ones that save money of course and when they save money they get a nice fat bonus in their pay packets! Hooray for them but not so good for the seriously ill patients being transferred to Raigmore in the middle of the night! Not so good for the relatives either following the ambulances down the A9 and not so good either for Raigmore who will have an increased workload! But they will have done their homework and they will have worked out that only a small number of people will loose their lives each year as a consequence. They can spin that news by saying well the patients would have died anyway! So that's OK then! We can't have anything to complain about and.......... the pen pusher takes yet another bonus!

Mother Superior
31-Dec-14, 19:26
Well, having read todays Groat I see things are moving fast but not in the right direction! Todays news is a disaster for everyone living in Caithness and the staff who remain at CGH! Is that the last of the Doctors who has resigned now or is there anyone left? Of course, NHS Highland will state that they are advertising all the vacant posts and maybe they are but I'm not sure where. The NHS Highland website, as of this evening, shows not one single vacancy at CGH although interestingly there is a vacancy listed at Raigmore for a locum Consultant Surgeon. What does that tell us? More empire building in Inverness I guess and too hoots to Caithness! Of course, they have to say they are advertising the posts and then when nobody applies they can say with justification that they have no option but to reduce services on offer at CGH! Surprise Surprise!

Mother Superior
31-Dec-14, 19:44
Well, having read todays Groat I see things are moving fast but not in the right direction! Todays news is a disaster for everyone living in Caithness and the staff who remain at CGH! Is that the last of the Doctors who has resigned now or is there anyone left? Of course, NHS Highland will state that they are advertising all the vacant posts and maybe they are but I'm not sure where. The NHS Highland website, as of this evening, shows not one single vacancy at CGH although interestingly there is a vacancy listed at Raigmore for a locum Consultant Surgeon. What does that tell us? More empire building in Inverness I guess and too hoots to Caithness! Of course, they have to say they are advertising the posts and then when nobody applies they can say with justification that they have no option but to reduce services on offer at CGH! Surprise Surprise!

Further information has just come to hand which may be of some interest. Apparently, the locum Consultant Surgeon vacancy at Raigmore is only for someone to cover for another Surgeon, for a period of 6 months, while they are on maternity leave. I also understand from my source that there are currently 13 Surgeons working in post at Raigmore with no other vacancies being advertised and certainly not at CGH.

Mother Superior
31-Dec-14, 21:20
Further information has just come to hand which may be of some interest. Apparently, the locum Consultant Surgeon vacancy at Raigmore is only for someone to cover for another Surgeon, for a period of 6 months, while they are on maternity leave. I also understand from my source that there are currently 13 Surgeons working in post at Raigmore with no other vacancies being advertised and certainly not at CGH.

Forgive me for clogging up the board this evening but information is coming at me left, right and centre. I now understand that the NHS Highland budget is chronically overspent for the current financial year and that contrary to statements made in recent weeks by Directors of NHS Highland none of the Doctor and Surgeon vacancies at CGH will be advertised in the foreseeable future! Also, various moratoriums have been put in place to ensure that staff will not divulge the true picture of the current recruitment situation and NHS Highland can continue their 'spin'.

Scunner
31-Dec-14, 21:36
Some more info for you Mother, it is hoped that a locum surgeon is due about week beginning 19th January

grumpyhippo
01-Jan-15, 20:38
Forgive me for clogging up the board this evening but information is coming at me left, right and centre. I now understand that the NHS Highland budget is chronically overspent for the current financial year and that contrary to statements made in recent weeks by Directors of NHS Highland none of the Doctor and Surgeon vacancies at CGH will be advertised in the foreseeable future! Also, various moratoriums have been put in place to ensure that staff will not divulge the true picture of the current recruitment situation and NHS Highland can continue their 'spin'.

The irony is that Caithness General would be within budget if it wasn't for the cost of locum consultants and other staff. The situation is very close to a tipping point. If there is a shortage of consultants nationally it will be difficult to recruit replacements if potential recruits to consultant posts think they will be working in isolation. The lack of consultants will mean that junior doctors will want to be trained elsewhere and try to avoid coming to Caithness. Its difficult be optimistic about the future of patient services at CGH

Mother Superior
01-Jan-15, 22:41
[QUOTE=Scunner;1106631]Some more info for you Mother, it is hoped that a locum surgeon is due about week beginning 19th January[/QUOTE

Great News! Can you let NHS Highland know?

Scunner
01-Jan-15, 23:45
It was the them that let me know !!!!!!!!!

Kenn
03-Jan-15, 01:23
I rest my case, locums are the bane of The NHS, but a least it's good to see so many folk showing their concern.

Scunner
03-Jan-15, 01:55
I rest my case, locums are the bane of The NHS, but a least it's good to see so many folk showing their concern.

Have to agree with you Lizz - having seen 3 over a period of 2/3 months.

DMFB
03-Jan-15, 09:12
Im confused now. We have a service in the are which we cannot get permenant Consultants to come and work. The service is only being able to continue by the locum consultants coming to work on short term contracts or whatever it is they agree to. Now they are the bain of the NHS Im lost. I want this service to continue I dont care what the consultsnts title is.

DMFB
03-Jan-15, 09:36
In the meantime management should be working tirelessly to address this situation which they themselves admit has been an ongoing problem for years if you can get locums to come to work here you should with the right package be able to get permanant staff. whether its doctors nurse physios anything. Unless the masterplan is to make the service look unsustainable then you can push through the ultimate plans for the hospital which has always been rumoured as downgrading.

robbain
03-Jan-15, 10:37
The major problems is the senior managers of CGH, who are in charge of CGH and are very incompetent, who should be removed or dismissed for the way they handled the budget of CGH, no wonder they can't seem to either recruit or keep staff for the right job. For the staff who probably suffering low morale due to this, are doing wonderful job under the bad handling of the budget from the senior management, they should be thanked by the public. Its look like Grampian Situation has the GCH as well. Poor Management who only care about themselves, not caring how CGH is run.

DMFB
03-Jan-15, 11:48
The major problems is the senior managers of CGH, who are in charge of CGH and are very incompetent, who should be removed or dismissed for the way they handled the budget of CGH, no wonder they can't seem to either recruit or keep staff for the right job. For the staff who probably suffering low morale due to this, are doing wonderful job under the bad handling of the budget from the senior management, they should be thanked by the public. Its look like Grampian Situation has the GCH as well. Poor Management who only care about themselves, not caring how CGH is run.

I have to agree with you on this senior management are most definitely to blame in this one. Too busy building and looking after their own empire. There was a big amalgamation of services a few years ago was management trimmed down then or are they all still there in different guises ?
I am truly disheartende every time I read the Groat and see more headline disaster news, more innept decisions by management and even more dissapointingly more loss of services in whats supposed to be an advancing more modern hospital. In my day the hospital to me was far more able to deal with a far bigger variety of situations than now but maybe my memory is clouded and Im in need of some of the geriatric services which may or may not still be there.

gerry4
06-Jan-15, 22:34
I saw on twitter last night that Gibson our MSP & Gail Ross, Wick councillor where having a meeting today with NHS Highland about out of ours surgery at Wick. Don't know the outcome. At least some of our elected members are trying to do something.

Kenn
06-Jan-15, 22:54
I received an email from Gail, Rob Gibson's PA very recently and if what was written was correct and I have no reason to believe that it was not , then like most of the folk up here, he too has been kept very ill informed.

Mother Superior
07-Jan-15, 12:46
I received an email from Gail, Rob Gibson's PA very recently and if what was written was correct and I have no reason to believe that it was not , then like most of the folk up here, he too has been kept very ill informed.

I wonder if Rob Gibson has been very ill informed or has he been deceived?

On the one hand we have a crisis that affects the lives of EVERY, and I mean EVERY, single person in the North whether they be a resident or visitor to our region. In those terms it could be argued that this is our biggest crisis since World War 2! Therefore, I would expect every single politician in the North to be banging every drum he could find to get a resolution. So if Rob Gibson is very ill informed is that because he hasn't seen the seriousness of the situation and immediately started knocking heads together, or has he been doing just that but come up against NHS Highlands 'Ministry of Misinformation'. If the Inverness Press Office was disbanded they could save enough money to take on another surgeon AND provide a package of inducements to get the right people up here!

DMFB
07-Jan-15, 23:24
I wonder if Rob Gibson has been very ill informed or has he been deceived?

On the one hand we have a crisis that affects the lives of EVERY, and I mean EVERY, single person in the North whether they be a resident or visitor to our region. In those terms it could be argued that this is our biggest crisis since World War 2! Therefore, I would expect every single politician in the North to be banging every drum he could find to get a resolution. So if Rob Gibson is very ill informed is that because he hasn't seen the seriousness of the situation and immediately started knocking heads together, or has he been doing just that but come up against NHS Highlands 'Ministry of Misinformation'. If the Inverness Press Office was disbanded they could save enough money to take on another surgeon AND provide a package of inducements to get the right people up here!

Oh dear Robs not misinfored hes chosing to gently bang the drum make the right whispers, hes raised his head just a little above the paarapet and now he will duck back down where he will try to stay until the election is over. Cant be seen to criticise NHS when its being run ultimatly by his administration and theres an election cant highlight any negatives just now. Lifes all rosy under SNSP.

DMFB
07-Jan-15, 23:27
I saw on twitter last night that Gibson our MSP & Gail Ross, Wick councillor where having a meeting today with NHS Highland about out of ours surgery at Wick. Don't know the outcome. At least some of our elected members are trying to do something.
Me thinks the only ones who can sort this mess is NHS bosses and they are neither willing or capable in my oppinion.

Mother Superior
08-Jan-15, 11:18
I saw on twitter last night that Gibson our MSP & Gail Ross, Wick councillor where having a meeting today with NHS Highland about out of ours surgery at Wick. Don't know the outcome. At least some of our elected members are trying to do something.

I see the biggest crisis to hit Caithness since the Second World War still has not registered on any of our elected representatives websites or facebook and twitter pages. But, just a minute, I see Rob Gibson has just tweeted the following: 'Severe weather warnings have been issued for Highland with hurricane winds expected'. Yep, that's right Rob just keep your head down and you'll be OK!

starfish
08-Jan-15, 11:30
where is all the wind coming from perhaps out of rob gibson back side for all the good he does

Mother Superior
08-Jan-15, 13:24
where is all the wind coming from perhaps out of rob gibson back side for all the good he does

I believe the only cure for the condition is to sit on your hands!

gerry4
08-Jan-15, 13:26
I see the biggest crisis to hit Caithness since the Second World War still has not registered on any of our elected representatives websites or facebook and twitter pages. But, just a minute, I see Rob Gibson has just tweeted the following: 'Severe weather warnings have been issued for Highland with hurricane winds expected'. Yep, that's right Rob just keep your head down and you'll be OK!

Have we seen the Labour MSP's for the area twitting about the situation here? Must say I haven't. I am not a big fan of Gibson, nor am I a SNP member but at least he HAS had a meeting with NHS Highland. More than our other MSPs for the area have done.

Mother Superior
08-Jan-15, 13:53
Have we seen the Labour MSP's for the area twitting about the situation here? Must say I haven't. I am not a big fan of Gibson, nor am I a SNP member but at least he HAS had a meeting with NHS Highland. More than our other MSPs for the area have done.

Sounds like everything will be fine then.

I see this morning that NHS Highland have announced this morning that they are expanding their team of Consultant Surgeons working at Raigmore from 13 to 14 with another appointment in March. Yet, despite the NHS Highland Medical Director stating in December that they were currently, at that time, advertising for a Surgeon for CGH nobody could find the advertisement then and there is still no sign of it. Perhaps they put the advert in Vets Weekly by mistake?

gerry4
08-Jan-15, 14:42
This has just been issued by NHS Highland. They are hoping to expand the surgical procedures in Wick.

http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/PledgeissuedonCaithnesssurgicalservices.aspx

Mother Superior
08-Jan-15, 15:04
This has just been issued by NHS Highland. They are hoping to expand the surgical procedures in Wick.

http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/PledgeissuedonCaithnesssurgicalservices.aspx

Thank you Gerry.

starfish
08-Jan-15, 16:32
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/N...lservices.aspx (http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/PledgeissuedonCaithnesssurgicalservices.aspx) let hope this is just no talk to keep us quite and it is put into practice

weeker2014
08-Jan-15, 16:48
I was unlucky enough to have a heart attack on Hogmannay. I can only praise the team at Caithness General, however, what really concerned me is that I had to be airlifted to Aberdeen as there is no cardiac emergency care service in Inverness out with Mon - Fri 9-3. This includes no cover on public holidays. I find it ridiculous that with something as common as a heart attack, there is no service within NHS Highland to help you are that you have to go to another NHS area. I can only give the highest praise to the Aberdeen team as well who were outstanding, whilst under extreme pressure through lack of beds and short staffing.

In addition I have to go back in 6 weeks to have a 2nd stent fitted, which again has to be done in Aberdeen. What on earth are NHS Highland playing at?? They said on the news they were not busy when every other trust was under pressure this week, however, there is little wonder when they don't have the ability to do anything within NHS Highland.

DMFB
08-Jan-15, 18:04
This has just been issued by NHS Highland. They are hoping to expand the surgical procedures in Wick.

http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/PledgeissuedonCaithnesssurgicalservices.aspx

I will believe this when I see it given Caithness has only one surgeon and a diminishing anaesthetics team for knowcking us poor old souls out I will not hold my breath.

squidge
08-Jan-15, 18:34
I see the biggest crisis to hit Caithness since the Second World War still has not registered on any of our elected representatives websites or facebook and twitter pages. But, just a minute, I see Rob Gibson has just tweeted the following: 'Severe weather warnings have been issued for Highland with hurricane winds expected'. Yep, that's right Rob just keep your head down and you'll be OK!

Hi Mother Superior

This was shared on Gail Ross's Facebook Page on 6th Jan




Conclusion of the meeting with NHS Highland today -
Out of hours surgery at Caithness General Hospital has not changed.
Surgery will continue to be provided as normal.
Any emergency surgery not provided for in Wick will transfer to Raigmore as normal.
CGH is integral to medical and surgical provision in the Highlands.
Surgeons and consultants are to be recruited Highland wide to share services.
A group, consisting of management, staff, councillors, patients and the wider community is too look at the way forward.
NHS Highland and all partner agencies are committed to the future improvement of CGH.


And this yesterday


In regards to the article in today's Courier "Press Banned from Meeting about Hospital Surgical Cover" I'd like to make the following points -
The press were never invited as it wasn't a public meeting,
It was not a Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee meeting,
It wasn't only me and Deirdre that were against them reporting from the meeting, NHS Highland reps made it very clear that they would have to reconsider their position if the press stayed,
We were there to help find a solution and this would have been extremely counterproductive,
There was a possibility of sensitive and confidential information being discussed regarding individual persons and contracts,
The meeting was never advertised as a public meeting,
People needed to speak frankly and the presence of the press may have restricted that,
Shock, horror, we do actually have meetings to try and remedy situations without making them public. I call it 'doing my job' and I do it whether the paper covers it or not,
The press has already been told that we would contact them when the meeting concluded to brief them on the main issues,
We are looking forward to working alongside NHS Highland to try and resolve the current staffing situation,
There will be more meetings, including public ones, and the press will be more than welcome to attend,
No decisions about changes to service were made, these will be made in public and with consultation,
We need to focus on the positive story that came from the meeting, that surgical cover continues, THAT is the public interest story.

I know that Gail did ask that these posts were shared. Hope that helps :D

weeker2014
08-Jan-15, 19:27
Hi Mother Superior

This was shared on Gail Ross's Facebook Page on 6th Jan




And this yesterday


I know that Gail did ask that these posts were shared. Hope that helps :D

Does that mean Emergency surgery will be covered at Raigmore if its only between 9 and 3 Monday to Friday?

Mother Superior
08-Jan-15, 20:29
Does that mean Emergency surgery will be covered at Raigmore if its between 9 and 3 Monday to Friday?

Weeker I Hope you are well?

I think what we can deduce from the revelations in Gail Ross's posts is that GCHQ is now in charge of NHS Highland so you are not likely to ever get an answer I'm afraid.

weeker2014
08-Jan-15, 20:40
Weeker I Hope you are well?

I think what we can deduce from the revelations in Gail Ross's posts is that GCHQ is now in charge of NHS Highland so you are not likely to ever get an answer I'm afraid.

Slowly on the mend thanks Mother Superior. Got home yesterday so just trying to rest :)

DMFB
08-Jan-15, 23:03
I have had a horrible thought this evening. Whilst everyone was focusing and on and fighting for the Dunbar management snuck in and shut the Harmsworth? is that what it was called. Now everyone is focusing and fighting about surery consultants etc will management hope noone fights for QE which is due to be shut and demolished or so the grapevine has it ? Just a thought .

Kenn
08-Jan-15, 23:09
Looks like my comment in 'e Groats has stirred up some and long overdue.

Mother Superior
09-Jan-15, 11:44
As is often the case with communications from our representatives they tend to create more questions than they answer. On the positive side Gail Ross reports from Wednesday's meeting in Wick that NHS Highland have said they are committed to CGH. The cynic in me says well they WOULD say that wouldn't they. On the negative side Gail reports that 'out of hours surgery at CGH has not changed' and that 'surgery will continue to be provided as normal'. So what does Gail mean by this? It appears that Gail has accepted that providing surgery at CGH only in the daytime Monday to Friday (around one quarter of the hours in the week) is now normal and acceptable!

Also on the negative side I see that Gail and Deidre voted against the press and public being present at the meeting because , if they had not, NHS Highland would have probably walked out of the meeting! Surely NHS Highland were not afraid of hearing some criticisms of themselves? That would have been no good for their reputation at all! Any 'sensitive' information could easily have been 'skirted around by those present Sadly, by acquiescing in this way Gail ad Deidre have given NHS Highland, and their Ministry of Misinformation, the control they desire in their efforts to only release the bare bones of 'spun' information that will only lead to yet further speculation. So we have to accept that neither our representatives or NHS Highland are prepared to listen to the press or the public until a time or place that suits them which will probably be after the decisions have been secretly made and NHS Highland have a box to tick which says 'public consulted.'

Mother Superior
09-Jan-15, 11:47
As is often the case with communications from our representatives they tend to create more questions than they answer. On the positive side Gail Ross reports from Wednesday's meeting in Wick that NHS Highland have said they are committed to CGH. The cynic in me says well they WOULD say that wouldn't they. On the negative side Gail reports that 'out of hours surgery at CGH has not changed' and that 'surgery will continue to be provided as normal'. So what does Gail mean by this? It appears that Gail has accepted that providing surgery at CGH only in the daytime Monday to Friday (around one quarter of the hours in the week) is now normal and acceptable!

Also on the negative side I see that Gail and Deidre voted against the press and public being present at the meeting because , if they had not, NHS Highland would have probably walked out of the meeting! Surely NHS Highland were not afraid of hearing some criticisms of themselves? That would have been no good for their reputation at all! Any 'sensitive' information could easily have been 'skirted around by those present. Sadly, by acquiescing in this way Gail ad Deidre have given NHS Highland, and their Ministry of Misinformation, the control they desire in their efforts to only release the bare bones of 'spun' information that will only lead to yet further speculation. So we have to accept that neither our representatives or NHS Highland are prepared to listen to the press or the public until a time or place that suits them which will probably be after the decisions have been secretly made and NHS Highland have a box to tick which says 'public consulted'.

DMFB
09-Jan-15, 19:41
Mother superior i agree with you i feel the decision to hold the meeting in private was ill thought. I would like to bet NO sensitive information regarding contracts was discussed/ Thats the cynic in me. The pres are doing an excellent job of keeping us informed and keeping the information flowing in an informed manner. No cloak and dagger no secrets and no ignoring the public feeling. I feel this may come back to haunt the councillors who took this stance elections looming all its going to take is a disgruntled member of the NHS to stand against some of you and you will all go running for cover. I also read Gails statement kindly posted by another member. A bit of a childish tantrum which smacks of feet stamping and chest banging.If you were my child id be having a word wiht you. Just because your shouting this out loud does not mean you are right Gail. AT a time like this everything should be in the open as its the public that are going to feel the brunt of managements decisions. Ialso feel that this meeting was full of BS Im not one for bad language however announcing expansion of services when you cant even recruit staff get back to your drawing board and come up with deliverble believeable statements please.

Oddquine
10-Jan-15, 02:19
On reading the tone of some of the posts on this thread, I suspect, if the meeting had been public, there would have been little to no time spent, by punters at the meeting, on listening to and trying to understand the recruitment and funding problems faced by Highland Health Board, and even less time spent on any effort to come up with alternative useful temporary plans to cope with a real recruitment problem outwith the control of NHS Highland (and if it comes to that, NHS Grampian and other Health Boards with more rural areas) other than those proposed..........in favour of the punters bleating about their sense of entitlement to have NHS facilities not only on demand, but in the hospital they demand, during the hours they demand.

I suspect it is unlikely that the punter attending a public meeting would have been offering useful ideas to HHB as to how they can actually persuade surgeons to leave other jobs, and places where they are already settled, for a permanent position in what is perceived, by many south of Perth, the bahookey end of nowhere, which has a higher cost of living than the Central Belt and southwards..and has not a lot to recommend it, lifestyle-wise, bar scenery, not a lot of traffic (or buses) cheap house prices compared to further south (but that cheapness also applies to reselling in the future and problems buying then in more expensive areas) and fresh air(because of the lack of traffic)

Given it takes time to set up an operating theatre between ops, the theatres need to be cleaned at the end of the working day, and the average person doesn't work until the job is finished (without overtime or time off in lieu) and operations rarely take only a few minutes from start to finish, I'd have thought that planned surgery between the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays would be pretty much the norm in most hospitals in which there is only one consultant surgeon. on staff, (and a pretty good one if my experience in 2012 is anything to go by.)

People...instead of carping....how's about some ideas? Just how do you think that NHS Highland can encourage people to come to Caithness (or even Raigmore) from elsewhere, in an austerity economy which does not allow the carrot of really silly money salaries. Caithness, and most other rural hospitals....and GP practices, if it comes to that, are having real problems recruiting people who will stay longer than they must....to train or fill in time until something better comes along. From what I see in my Grampian Health Board home area, since I have moved back from Caithness, the problem is only going to get worse, regarding GP practices at least, as there are few who are attracting young doctors willing to stay.......and many whose current partners are nearing retirement.

Out of interest only, do any of you know how many born and brought up in Caithness, and who have gone on to get medical, or medically associated degrees, have come home after qualifying to care for their own, rather than stay away and care for others?

As an aside.....left to me.......I'd only be paying the university fees for people who agreed to work x years in Scotland in return. Companies set that obligation on employees for whom they pay the costs of improving their qualifications......the MOD sponsors recruits through university with a similar quid pro quo at the end of it.......so why can't the Government do the same?

squidge
10-Jan-15, 02:56
It is absolutely imperative for those of you who are concerned about the NHS in Caithness to get involved in any meetings, patient representative groups, commissioning groups. Did any of you apply for the NHS board post which was advertised in September time? If you are not involved then Why not? Groups like I have mentioned and others exist so that the the public can be informed and can inform the NHS. Please look them up and get your voice heard. If you think you can't fill vacancies or lack the confidence to apply then as your local councillor to help you. The more of us that step up to the plate the louder our voices are. If you are a twitter user then Garry Coutts is a regular tweeter and you can ask him stuff directly. Don't just criticise those who are doing, do something to help.

Mother Superior
10-Jan-15, 12:28
I would like to recommend the posts from squidge and Oddquine.

However, I would like to take issue with Oddquine on one or two points if I may? The first paragraph rather insults the intelligence of posters on this thread and the public and press who were banned from the meeting in question. To assume that we would have disrupted and extended the meeting is unfair. If there had been a fear of extended questioning from the floor perhaps more time could have been allotted although, of course, those travelling from Invreness would not have been happy with their longer day. As for the press I could not imagine that they would have done anything other than quietly make notes and ask one or two pertinent questions and, who knows, they may have made a valuable contribution.

I would like to go on by apologising for being a mere 'punter', as you call me and other posters on this thread, for 'bleating and carping' because we feel we should be able to receive emergency surgery 'on demand'. That is the nature of the need - it is an emergency! There are good people posting on here and some ,like weeker forinstance,have first hand experience of needing emergency surgery but finding it was not available north of Aberdeen. Perhaps you have ideas on how we can avoid the need for emergency surgery? Should we stay in bed 24/7 to avoid traffic accidents or do you have an instant cure for burst appendix?

Nonetheless, there is still much of interest in Oddquine's post and I recommend it as stated previously.

Oddquine
10-Jan-15, 15:24
I would like to recommend the posts from squidge and Oddquine.

However, I would like to take issue with Oddquine on one or two points if I may? The first paragraph rather insults the intelligence of posters on this thread and the public and press who were banned from the meeting in question. To assume that we would have disrupted and extended the meeting is unfair. If there had been a fear of extended questioning from the floor perhaps more time could have been allotted although, of course, those travelling from Invreness would not have been happy with their longer day. As for the press I could not imagine that they would have done anything other than quietly make notes and ask one or two pertinent questions and, who knows, they may have made a valuable contribution.

I would like to go on by apologising for being a mere 'punter', as you call me and other posters on this thread, for 'bleating and carping' because we feel we should be able to receive emergency surgery 'on demand'. That is the nature of the need - it is an emergency! There are good people posting on here and some ,like weeker forinstance,have first hand experience of needing emergency surgery but finding it was not available north of Aberdeen. Perhaps you have ideas on how we can avoid the need for emergency surgery? Should we stay in bed 24/7 to avoid traffic accidents or do you have an instant cure for burst appendix?

Nonetheless, there is still much of interest in Oddquine's post and I recommend it as stated previously.

They weren't actually banned, you know...........they were simply not invited to the meeting, because it was not a public meeting, but one to ascertain the situation within NHS Highland regarding CGH. The time for a public meeting would have been if, after that private meeting, the intentions of NHS Highland had been to permanently downgrade CGH surgical capacity or whatever. Government ministers undertake private meetings all the time.and then inform the press of what was discussed and any decisions made..and I suspect that was the intentions of the Councillors. Do people really expect to attend all meetings in which their councillors' participate, regardless of the reason for the meeting? After all, if the meeting was secret, they'd not have tweeted/put on FB that it was happening. Going by some comments on this thread, the meeting would not have been disrupted........as it would never have got past the temporary "no surgical cover over evenings and weekends" forced on NHS Highland by recruitment problems.

To be fair, you do kinda need a consultant anaesthetist if you have a surgical facility...and the BMJ jobs does have an advert for one for Wick....which rather shows that they do not intend to downgrade the surgical side.

I prefer the word punters to the term stakeholders, but they mean the same.....sorry if you don't like it. I have no problem with being thought of as a punter..after all, it's just a colloquial term for a customer(or in Australia, a voter).......as opposed to the politically correct stakeholder.....or the really irritating "client".

You still have emergency surgery "on demand"......just not in the place you would all like to have it. After all, that is why the Air Ambulance exists, because of the fact that hospitals in sparsely populated rural areas cannot justify, cost-wise, particularly in the current economic climate, a full hospital facility. The main problem with being in a hospital out of your own local area is difficulty for visitors in getting there....not in the patient getting there....as I found when I was in CGH.

You don't have to live North of Aberdeen to have to go to Aberdeen for surgery, and you don't have to live North of Inverness to have to travel for treatment, depending on the speciality needed. Heck, I had to spend a month in Inverness a decade or three ago just to have three simple tests, despite there being two local hospitals within 12 miles.....and the cost and scope of health services and expectations as to treatment entitlement has increased exponentially since then.

Living in a rural community has its drawbacks as well as its benefits. If you go by the NHS Highland Workforce plan for 2104-2015,
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board Meeting 12 August 2014/4.3 Workforce Plan 2014-15.pdf (http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%2012%20August%202014/4.3%20Workforce%20Plan%202014-15.pdf)
punters in Highland live longer than the Scottish average, and have less "premature" deaths, so more live beyond the age of 75.....but that in itself brings pressures on health services, with the percentage of over 65s in Highland being 2% higher than in Scotland as a whole. It does give some idea of the problems faced by the Health Board regarding recruitment..though I'm not convinced that there is a lot they can do to attract permanent staff.

weeker2014
10-Jan-15, 18:20
They weren't actually banned, you know...........they were simply not invited to the meeting, because it was not a public meeting, but one to ascertain the situation within NHS Highland regarding CGH. The time for a public meeting would have been if, after that private meeting, the intentions of NHS Highland had been to permanently downgrade CGH surgical capacity or whatever. Government ministers undertake private meetings all the time.and then inform the press of what was discussed and any decisions made..and I suspect that was the intentions of the Councillors. Do people really expect to attend all meetings in which their councillors' participate, regardless of the reason for the meeting? After all, if the meeting was secret, they'd not have tweeted/put on FB that it was happening. Going by some comments on this thread, the meeting would not have been disrupted........as it would never have got past the temporary "no surgical cover over evenings and weekends" forced on NHS Highland by recruitment problems.

To be fair, you do kinda need a consultant anaesthetist if you have a surgical facility...and the BMJ jobs does have an advert for one for Wick....which rather shows that they do not intend to downgrade the surgical side.

I prefer the word punters to the term stakeholders, but they mean the same.....sorry if you don't like it. I have no problem with being thought of as a punter..after all, it's just a colloquial term for a customer(or in Australia, a voter).......as opposed to the politically correct stakeholder.....or the really irritating "client".

You still have emergency surgery "on demand"......just not in the place you would all like to have it. After all, that is why the Air Ambulance exists, because of the fact that hospitals in sparsely populated rural areas cannot justify, cost-wise, particularly in the current economic climate, a full hospital facility. The main problem with being in a hospital out of your own local area is difficulty for visitors in getting there....not in the patient getting there....as I found when I was in CGH.

You don't have to live North of Aberdeen to have to go to Aberdeen for surgery, and you don't have to live North of Inverness to have to travel for treatment, depending on the speciality needed. Heck, I had to spend a month in Inverness a decade or three ago just to have three simple tests, despite there being two local hospitals within 12 miles.....and the cost and scope of health services and expectations as to treatment entitlement has increased exponentially since then.

Living in a rural community has its drawbacks as well as its benefits. If you go by the NHS Highland Workforce plan for 2104-2015,
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board Meeting 12 August 2014/4.3 Workforce Plan 2014-15.pdf (http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%2012%20August%202014/4.3%20Workforce%20Plan%202014-15.pdf)
punters in Highland live longer than the Scottish average, and have less "premature" deaths, so more live beyond the age of 75.....but that in itself brings pressures on health services, with the percentage of over 65s in Highland being 2% higher than in Scotland as a whole. It does give some idea of the problems faced by the Health Board regarding recruitment..though I'm not convinced that there is a lot they can do to attract permanent staff.

What a complete pile of toot!!!!

Firstly, why not try saying prospective patient instead of punter??

Secondly, I don't see why I should need to be airlifted to Aberdeen when there is a perfectly good main hospital in the Highlands in Raigmore, which is not a rural hospital. Inverness is a city. I did not need specialist treatment for a rare disease, I had a heart attack, which by anyones book is a pretty common thing to happen to people.

I also take offence to you noting that it is not difficult for patients to get to Aberdeen. I would absolutely beg to differ. From someone who was airlifted a mear 10 days ago I can categorically say it is not EASY. I am not only petrified of flying, but was at the whim of when an air ambulance was available. Because it was so busy they were going to attempt to move me to Aberdeen by ambulance in the first instance, until the consultant in Wick said that was extremely unacceptable for someone in the midst of a major heart attack to travel for a minimum 6 hour trip (due to legal breaks) in an Ambulance. Having surgery in Inverness may have made this proposition a little more bearable if not ideal. Maybe being airlifted isn't something you have had to endure??

In addition being 5 hours by road away from home, your family and friends at such a distressing time is absolutely horrendous, as it is so difficult for them to get to Aberdeen to visit, never mind the immense pressure that is put on them through worry for you.

Finally, although you may be airlifted to Aberdeen, you also have to get home again. I was told it would take 2 days following discharge for them to arrange patient transport back to Caithness, so inevitably you either fend for yourself or a family member has to make a 10 hour round trip to help you out. Not only is that unacceptable, but they are also extremely keen to tell you not to travel for long distances after a heart attack. I don't know about you but I found a 5 hour trip back to Caithness extremely stressful when I was, and still am, feeling far from 100%.

I would suggest you think, before engaging your fingers to type!!!!!!

Mother Superior
10-Jan-15, 19:50
They weren't actually banned, you know...........they were simply not invited to the meeting, because it was not a public meeting, but one to ascertain the situation within NHS Highland regarding CGH. The time for a public meeting would have been if, after that private meeting, the intentions of NHS Highland had been to permanently downgrade CGH surgical capacity or whatever. Government ministers undertake private meetings all the time.and then inform the press of what was discussed and any decisions made..and I suspect that was the intentions of the Councillors. Do people really expect to attend all meetings in which their councillors' participate, regardless of the reason for the meeting? After all, if the meeting was secret, they'd not have tweeted/put on FB that it was happening. Going by some comments on this thread, the meeting would not have been disrupted........as it would never have got past the temporary "no surgical cover over evenings and weekends" forced on NHS Highland by recruitment problems.

To be fair, you do kinda need a consultant anaesthetist if you have a surgical facility...and the BMJ jobs does have an advert for one for Wick....which rather shows that they do not intend to downgrade the surgical side.

I prefer the word punters to the term stakeholders, but they mean the same.....sorry if you don't like it. I have no problem with being thought of as a punter..after all, it's just a colloquial term for a customer(or in Australia, a voter).......as opposed to the politically correct stakeholder.....or the really irritating "client".

You still have emergency surgery "on demand"......just not in the place you would all like to have it. After all, that is why the Air Ambulance exists, because of the fact that hospitals in sparsely populated rural areas cannot justify, cost-wise, particularly in the current economic climate, a full hospital facility. The main problem with being in a hospital out of your own local area is difficulty for visitors in getting there....not in the patient getting there....as I found when I was in CGH.

You don't have to live North of Aberdeen to have to go to Aberdeen for surgery, and you don't have to live North of Inverness to have to travel for treatment, depending on the speciality needed. Heck, I had to spend a month in Inverness a decade or three ago just to have three simple tests, despite there being two local hospitals within 12 miles.....and the cost and scope of health services and expectations as to treatment entitlement has increased exponentially since then.

Living in a rural community has its drawbacks as well as its benefits. If you go by the NHS Highland Workforce plan for 2104-2015,
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board Meeting 12 August 2014/4.3 Workforce Plan 2014-15.pdf (http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%2012%20August%202014/4.3%20Workforce%20Plan%202014-15.pdf)
punters in Highland live longer than the Scottish average, and have less "premature" deaths, so more live beyond the age of 75.....but that in itself brings pressures on health services, with the percentage of over 65s in Highland being 2% higher than in Scotland as a whole. It does give some idea of the problems faced by the Health Board regarding recruitment..though I'm not convinced that there is a lot they can do to attract permanent staff.

Oddquine there are so many inaccuracies and false assumptions in your post starting with the very first sentence that, frankly, I cannot muster enough energy to reply. I hope that should you be in Caithness soon, and need an immediate and life-saving emergency operation out of hours, that there will be someone on duty locally (highly unlikely) to try and save your life. Now I'm going to sit down in front of the TV and watch The Voice ( something that our political representatives and NHS Highland don't like us to have just now!).

starfish
10-Jan-15, 19:51
totally agree with you WEEKER2014 the hns has put no thought into this at all its ok for them to day they will tranfer you to another hospital but they have not thought how you are getting home not every one has freinds or family that can drop every thing to fetch you aberdeen or the money what happens if youy are on the bread line and every penny counts and have no spare for travel expenses

Alice in Blunderland
10-Jan-15, 21:31
I have been following this thread for ages and had decided no I wont take part however Im now wading in along with others



On reading the tone of some of the posts on this thread, I suspect, if the meeting had been public, there would have been little to no time spent, by punters at the meeting, on listening to and trying to understand the recruitment and funding problems faced by Highland Health Board, and even less time spent on any effort to come up with alternative useful temporary plans to cope with a real recruitment problem

I have taken the time to highlight in red where i feel you have gone wrong in this part of your statement . This is a massive assumption of what may or may not have happened.


outwith the control of NHS Highland

I struggle to agree with this.


I suspect it is unlikely that the punter attending a public meeting would have been offering useful ideas to HHB as to how they can actually persuade surgeons to leave other jobs, and places where they are already settled, for a permanent position in what is perceived, by many south of Perth, the bahookey end of nowhere,

Highlighted for you another assumption.


I'd have thought that planned surgery between the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays would be pretty much the norm in most hospitals in which there is only one consultant surgeon. on staff, (and a pretty good one if my experience in 2012 is anything to go by.)

You could have finished that statement at most hospitals as that would be the case. Its not just a case of mopping the floor and cleaning that's involved with patients for planned surgery many other services labs (bloods) pharmacy ( discharge prescritions ) etc.


People...instead of carping....how's about some ideas? Just how do you think that NHS Highland can encourage people to come to Caithness (or even Raigmore) from elsewhere, in an austerity economy which does not allow the carrot of really silly money salaries.

You have asked for suggestions but in the same sentence vetoed one which has already been given stating...... austerity ?? Without knowing how salaries are calculated according to sessions worked per week by Consultants, sessions on call etc which definitely reflects in salaries we cannot dismiss salaries and raising them.



Out of interest only, do any of you know how many born and brought up in Caithness, and who have gone on to get medical, or medically associated degrees, have come home after qualifying to care for their own, rather than stay away and care for others?

And what has that got to do with the issue at hand are you insinuating that local born and bread would be welcome home with open arms as its thought they will stay? Management in Caithness General have to, after advertising the job recruit the best person for the job not the local graduate returned. To date very few local people have left this area to graduate in either a medical or a medical associated degree. This is down to a number of factors which is another debate. And some who have gained a medically associated degree wishing to return home are having to work elsewhere ( I am aware of one such person desperate to return to this area). Why some people may ask when this hospital seems to struggle to recruit in many areas.




They weren't actually banned, you know...........they were simply not invited to the meeting, because it was not a public meeting, but one to ascertain the situation within NHS Highland regarding CGH.

Maybe this should have been made clearer to everyone when it was decided to request this meeting by the councillors was this not done at a meeting attended by the press then this would have saved the issue coming up.


The time for a public meeting would have been if, after that private meeting, the intentions of NHS Highland had been to permanently downgrade CGH surgical capacity or whatever. Government ministers undertake private meetings all the time.and then inform the press of what was discussed and any decisions made..and I suspect that was the intentions of the Councillors. Do people really expect to attend all meetings in which their councillors' participate, regardless of the reason for the meeting? After all, if the meeting was secret, they'd not have tweeted/put on FB that it was happening. Going by some comments on this thread, the meeting would not have been disrupted........

I don't think so however this is my personal opinion. Press as lets face it its just the press who were asked to leave have often attended meetings( i have witnessed this ) and been asked to show discretion and not report something and they have complied. Of course people dont expect to attend all meetings in which Councillors participate however thi issue is of massive public concern and everyone has to work with the public to bring them on board with whats happening or not as the case may be.


as it would never have got past the temporary "no surgical cover over evenings and weekends" forced on NHS Highland by recruitment problems.

This has NOT been FORCED on NHS Highland this has been the decision and the direction NHS highland have taken due to staffing problems.Up until now and indeed now as they have not stopped out of hours emergency surgery NHS Highland have been using locums whether they be long term or short but they have been able to get them. They have been working for many months with only two permenant Consultants and at times one also they have been using locums. They have known for a long time that one of the Consultants has been due to retire.


To be fair, you do kinda need a consultant anesthetist if you have a surgical facility...and the BMJ jobs does have an advert for one for Wick....which rather shows that they do not intend to downgrade the surgical side.

Wrong In Caithness General they have three consultants in each department and given that an anesthetist resigned leaving only two they had to recruit. One of the two remaining Consultants has other commitments so that leaves only one kinda holding the fort nothing to do with downgrading or not.... again they cannot operate with only one full time anesthetist covering.



Living in a rural community has its drawbacks as well as its benefits. If you go by the NHS Highland Workforce plan for 2104-2015,
http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board Meeting 12 August 2014/4.3 Workforce Plan 2014-15.pdf (http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Meetings/BoardsMeetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%2012%20August%202014/4.3%20Workforce%20Plan%202014-15.pdf)
punters in Highland live longer than the Scottish average, and have less "premature" deaths, so more live beyond the age of 75.....but that in itself brings pressures on health services, with the percentage of over 65s in Highland being 2% higher than in Scotland as a whole. It does give some idea of the problems faced by the Health Board regarding recruitment..though I'm not convinced that there is a lot they can do to attract permanent staff.

Yes we do have many drawbacks living in a rural community however it also has many benefits.I dont get what your pointing at here linking our ageng population to recruitment unless you are suggesting that NHS Highland recruit more geriatricians. There is a heck of a lot more NHS Highland can do to recruit or attempt to recruit and until all avenues have been explored and exhausted then we the general public should expect no less than a service fit for purpose end off !


Oddquine there are so many inaccuracies and false assumptions in your post starting with the very first sentence that, frankly, I cannot muster enough energy to reply. I hope that should you be in Caithness soon, and need an immediate and life-saving emergency operation out of hours, that there will be someone on duty locally (highly unlikely) to try and save your life. Now I'm going to sit down in front of the TV and watch The Voice ( something that our political representatives and NHS Highland don't like us to have just now!).

I felt i had to muster the enrgy on this one Ive been sitting back watching others reply but hey ho had to just pop in and point a few things out IMHO


totally agree with you WEEKER2014 the hns has put no thought into this at all its ok for them to day they will tranfer you to another hospital but they have not thought how you are getting home not every one has freinds or family that can drop every thing to fetch you aberdeen or the money what happens if youy are on the bread line and every penny counts and have no spare for travel expenses

I feel management here are practising reactive management rather than proactive management so wrong very, very, wrong.

Weeker2014 I wish you a speedy and full recovery.

gerry4
10-Jan-15, 22:19
I would love to know if anyone has any ideas on how to recruit medical staff to areas like Caithness.
The only suggestion I have seen is to make it part of the condition for gaining medical degree in Scotland that they work n years for the NHS. That though does not mean they would work for area's like ours. The NHS is having huge problems in getting medical staff to move to remote areas. This is not just a Scottish problem but a UK problem.

Alice in Blunderland
10-Jan-15, 22:24
You might find that management HAVE been given ideas over the years and have taken few of them on board in fact they have downed a few as soon as they were given most for financial reasons. Much has to change to aid recruitment in this area and one suggestion would be managements approach would have to be the first change followed by their attitude. Ask staff on the floor their opinion of management its an eyeopener.

gerry4
10-Jan-15, 22:30
Alice, I was meaning on here, no one has posted any ideas on here

Alice in Blunderland
10-Jan-15, 22:33
Alice, I was meaning on here, no one has posted any ideas on here

lol whooosh moment.

weeker2014
11-Jan-15, 06:08
The latest consultant to announce he is leaving would have happily stayed had he been able to get a 3-5 year contract and some stability for him and his family. A good start would be to STOP offering contracts of 1 year or less. You wouldn't expect that in normal jobs unless it is short term or materity cover for example, so why should it happen in the NHS when we know we will have a need of consultants for at least that period of time.

On the other hand the conspiracy theorist in me thinks NHS may want it that way so when they want to cut services to save money they can blame it on a lack of full time cover.

Alice in Blunderland
11-Jan-15, 09:18
The latest consultant to announce he is leaving would have happily stayed had he been able to get a 3-5 year contract and some stability for him and his family. A good start would be to STOP offering contracts of 1 year or less. You wouldn't expect that in normal jobs unless it is short term or materity cover for example, so why should it happen in the NHS when we know we will have a need of consultants for at least that period of time.

On the other hand the conspiracy theorist in me thinks NHS may want it that way so when they want to cut services to save money they can blame it on a lack of full time cover.

I am not sure which Consultant you are referring to here however the latest Consultant to resign and give notice to leave from the Medical side was full time permanent no time definition to these Contracts. As was the Anesthetist. If you are a Substantive Consultant (full time permanent ) you go through a rigorous interview process and should you be successful you are normally here until you give your three months notice to leave or you goof and get sacked (to put it simply). If you are a locum its a different ball game all together.
If you are a locum the recruitment and interview process is different its much simpler and quicker they are recruited to mainly shorter contracts as is widely known they work for locum agencies or they are individuals only looking for short term work here there and everywhere. The hourly rate is much higher however there is no job security holiday pay pensions etc . Its easier to employ a locum due to the simpler process however if the said locum then decides they like it its not as simple as saying hey give me a longer contract. They have to advertise the post gather the appropriate interview panel which can be quite a few people, managers, personnel, Royal College Representatives, independent members etc not uncommon for these panels to consist of eight or more members.

starfish
11-Jan-15, 12:03
the morale of the staff on the floor (not management ) is at a all time low . the more they try the less help they seem to be getting , just more paperwork how they expect you to do any actual nursing for some i do not know , i can see more staff going off sick through stress ect

Alice in Blunderland
11-Jan-15, 12:12
the morale of the staff on the floor (not management ) is at a all time low . the more they try the less help they seem to be getting , just more paperwork how they expect you to do any actual nursing for some i do not know , i can see more staff going off sick through stress ect

True very true the morale of staff is at an all time low and do management care NO! As long as this situation remains there is no quick fix solutions. Unless management begin to listen to what they are being told again No quick fix solutions and unless money is magicked from somewhere no long term solution. I cant wait to see how CGH are planning to expand surgical services when not long ago it was in the press that the wards were all shuffling around losing beds !! Reactive management Im sure reacting to public pressure press councilors etc the list goes on however its the poor on the floor staff that have to keep on nursing whilst the pen pushers keep on planning.

poppett
11-Jan-15, 17:11
Nice to see your head over the parapet Alice.

Going back to the subject of where operations take place, surely the place of excellence is the place to be? Granted Raigmore is a city hospital, but in the Cardiology department they divert certain cases to Aberdeen or Edinburgh as a matter of course. I have a friend who had to go to Aberdeen for a triple chamber pacemaker because that operation is not done in Raigmore, also know a retired GP from the county waiting to go to Edinburgh for the same operation. In Raigmore the urology department could not have performed my husband`s life saving operations which were done in Edinburgh, although one of the consultants there now was a trainee in Edinburgh but the same operation would still be performed at the centre of excellence.

We do not expect Caithness General ever to be performing heart transplants, but just basic routine operations and emergency surgery if required, but the way things are going we will be lucky to have a hospital there at all soon.

weeker2014
11-Jan-15, 17:27
Poppett I disagree.

Nobody has mentioned triple chamber pace makers in the slightest, what I said was heart attack, which rather than presuming the cause you should maybe have read a little further. Also nobody expected CGH to perform heart transplants.

I required a stent to be fitted, which actually only took 15 mins and was done without anaesthetic. The stress of the pain and being arilifted was a lot greater than the solution ever was. The point being this COULD have been done in Inverness if they were not only available Monday - Friday, 9-3. So your presumption of patients are being sent to hospitals with areas of excellence is false. Indeed nobody wants more than emergency surgery to be retained out of hours, that is what we are all fighting for. From what I can work out patients don't only need emergency help 9-3 Monday - Friday.

My comment is that NHS Highland is not fit for purpose simply for the reason I gave above. Inverness is a City and as such we should be able to get the surgery and care we require within NHS Highland, unless it is a very complex or rare case where centres of excellence are the best option. There is little point in centres of excellence for day to day things as there is no excellence needed.

In future I suggest you read what is written before you make assumptions and start attempting to cause bother.

Alice in Blunderland
11-Jan-15, 19:08
Poppett I disagree.

Nobody has mentioned triple chamber pace makers in the slightest, what I said was heart attack, which rather than presuming the cause you should maybe have read a little further. Also nobody expected CGH to perform heart transplants.

I required a stent to be fitted, which actually only took 15 mins and was done without anaesthetic. The stress of the pain and being arilifted was a lot greater than the solution ever was. The point being this COULD have been done in Inverness if they were not only available Monday - Friday, 9-3. So your presumption of patients are being sent to hospitals with areas of excellence is false. Indeed nobody wants more than emergency surgery to be retained out of hours, that is what we are all fighting for. From what I can work out patients don't only need emergency help 9-3 Monday - Friday.

My comment is that NHS Highland is not fit for purpose simply for the reason I gave above. Inverness is a City and as such we should be able to get the surgery and care we require within NHS Highland, unless it is a very complex or rare case where centres of excellence are the best option. There is little point in centres of excellence for day to day things as there is no excellence needed.

In future I suggest you read what is written before you make assumptions and start attempting to cause bother.

However stressful the airlift was for you at least you were taken somewhere and given this treatment. Raigmore does not offer this service round the clock however Aberdeen does and has done for many years. Raigmore has only in the last few years introduced this service. It may be a limited service but it has been introduced so some families will have the benefit from it. Unfortunately not you.

The case for Wick is we are having services reduced beds reduced difficulty recruiting more and more people will be on the road in whatever mode of transport if we are not lucky A service fit for purpose is what is required and a maintaining of services that are already present it would be lovely if we did have an expansion of services but we have to be real in our expectations.
( as far as I can read maybe its another whoosh moment Poppet was only referencing what happened to her friend and husband I didnt think she was attempting to state the cause ....you a doctor Poppet if so we have a job for you )

weeker2014
11-Jan-15, 19:52
However stressful the airlift was for you at least you were taken somewhere and given this treatment. Raigmore does not offer this service round the clock however Aberdeen does and has done for many years. Raigmore has only in the last few years introduced this service. It may be a limited service but it has been introduced so some families will have the benefit from it. Unfortunately not you.

The case for Wick is we are having services reduced beds reduced difficulty recruiting more and more people will be on the road in whatever mode of transport if we are not lucky A service fit for purpose is what is required and a maintaining of services that are already present it would be lovely if we did have an expansion of services but we have to be real in our expectations.
( as far as I can read maybe its another whoosh moment Poppet was only referencing what happened to her friend and husband I didnt think she was attempting to state the cause ....you a doctor Poppet if so we have a job for you )

As usual Alice you are trivialising peoples experiences and comments. Shame on you!

Alice in Blunderland
11-Jan-15, 20:47
However stressful the airlift was for you at least you were taken somewhere and given this treatment. Raigmore does not offer this service round the clock however Aberdeen does and has done for many years. Raigmore has only in the last few years introduced this service. It may be a limited service but it has been introduced so some families will have the benefit from it. Unfortunately not you.

The case for Wick is we are having services reduced beds reduced difficulty recruiting more and more people will be on the road in whatever mode of transport if we are not lucky A service fit for purpose is what is required and a maintaining of services that are already present it would be lovely if we did have an expansion of services but we have to be real in our expectations.
( as far as I can read maybe its another whoosh moment Poppet was only referencing what happened to her friend and husband I didnt think she was attempting to state the cause ....you a doctor Poppet if so we have a job for you )


As usual Alice you are trivialising peoples experiences and comments. Shame on you!

In no way am I trivialising peoples experiences I am stating FACT. You needed treatment you were taken to the nearest centre offering that treatment by the fastest route end off ! You found the air flight stressful thats your own personal feeling others wouldnt have it had nothing to do with your heart condition! Now when it comes to you getting home yes you are kind off left to your own devices as you are deemed fit after the procedure. Same as if you were being discharged from Raigmore Wick etc. Many of us have found ourselves in that position not good but once you are sorted your need for the hospital and its services is done.
I then proceeded on to finishing my post with another fact regarding services in Caithness if I trivialised it all by offering Poppet a job that bit was tongue in cheek.

weeker2014
11-Jan-15, 21:07
In no way am I trivialising peoples experiences I am stating FACT. You needed treatment you were taken to the nearest centre offering that treatment by the fastest route end off ! You found the air flight stressful thats your own personal feeling others wouldnt have it had nothing to do with your heart condition! Now when it comes to you getting home yes you are kind off left to your own devices as you are deemed fit after the procedure. Same as if you were being discharged from Raigmore Wick etc. Many of us have found ourselves in that position not good but once you are sorted your need for the hospital and its services is done.
I then proceeded on to finishing my post with another fact regarding services in Caithness if I trivialised it all by offering Poppet a job that bit was tongue in cheek.

No you are trivalising my experience and what is no doubt the experience of others when they have agreed with me on here. You are nothing but a troll who takes pleasure in putting people down. As always unless it affects you people should just put up and shut up in your opinion. Very Very Sad!!!

Alice in Blunderland
11-Jan-15, 21:21
No you are trivalising my experience and what is no doubt the experience of others when they have agreed with me on here. You are nothing but a troll who takes pleasure in putting people down. As always unless it affects you people should just put up and shut up in your opinion. Very Very Sad!!!

Really unless it affects me ......wind your neck in and get back on track with the debate the word troll gets tossed around on this site far too often. Yes it is Sad very sad that the NHS in this area finds itself in the spot its in just now.

weeker2014
11-Jan-15, 21:26
Really unless it affects me ......wind your neck in and get back on track with the debate the word troll gets tossed around on this site far too often. Yes it is Sad very sad that the NHS in this area finds itself in the spot its in just now.

Oh no I am in no doubt you are a troll. I may forgive as a first offence, but your latest outburst is far from it and you have directed it at me as well as many others before for sharing a genuine experience.

Kenn
12-Jan-15, 01:29
Oh for goodness sake, stop bickering like children at a kindergarten and start fighting for the survival of our general hospital and all the services it should provide for the local community.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 08:14
Oh for goodness sake, stop bickering like children at a kindergarten and start fighting for the survival of our general hospital and all the services it should provide for the local community.

Really Lizz I ignored the last response from Weeker 2014 knowing that the spat between us is not going to go anywhere.However to now be told to start fighting for the survival of our hospital when I have been actively doing this off this message board for a while is a bit rich.

Scunner
12-Jan-15, 10:10
Go buy today's press and journal for an update.

Mother Superior
12-Jan-15, 12:26
Oh for goodness sake, stop bickering like children at a kindergarten and start fighting for the survival of our general hospital and all the services it should provide for the local community.

In my final NHS job before retiring I worked in another hospital, not CGH or Raigmore. New young managers would arrive straight from college or university clutching their certificates in pen pushing. They had no idea about the NHS and were too young to have experienced serious illness and the consequences for the patient and the families. The collective incompetence of these managers resulted in them blundering from one mistake to another and trying to 'protect each others backs'. If a member of staff pointed out a mistake, or how something could be improved, it was taken as a criticism. A culture of bullying and victimisation ensued.

One incident saw our Chief Executive ignore warnings from staff about a particular manager. Those of us who had reported the manager had a torrid time and many of us were victimised to the point of resignation and left. When the CEO eventually realised that we had been telling the truth over £100k had been misappropriated and the manager dismissed on the spot. But too late for many of the staff who had left their jobs. The CEO issued letters ordering that no staff should speak to the press and that the matter was closed. There was no prosecution. Of course, the CEO did not wish to have bad publicity for the hospital on her 'watch' nor have anything detrimental on her own CV. The 'books were cooked' to cover the manager's tracks.

I tell this story by way of saying we are all different . We all have different experiences. My story explains why I will post a fair amount of cynicism where managers are concerned. But I also try and introduce some humour because they deserve to have some fun poked at them. My humour is not meant to trivialise the problem we are discussing. Perhaps one or two posters have lacked a little compassion of late but, as I say, we are all different and we all want to see the same thing which is an improving service from our local hospital.

gerry4
12-Jan-15, 13:24
As I keep on saying this is not just about CGH but about getting medical staff, doctors, nurses, GP's etc into rural areas. Look at Thurso Health centre, had to be taken over by Highland NHS as they could not find doctors. Is not the problem at Wick health centre that they can't get enough full time GP's, most are part time & so getting an appointment is bad.
GP surgeries on the West Coast & Western Isles have huge problems finding GPs. I am sure the same happens in rural areas in England & Wales. It is not a problem with any one NHS district. Therefore we need to know why medical staff are reluctant to go to rural areas, not just Caithness.

I know our concern is Caithness and rightly so but if we find the reason they won't come we may solve the issue of understaffing. Its not just money as extra money in rural areas has been tried

Mother Superior
12-Jan-15, 13:50
As I keep on saying this is not just about CGH but about getting medical staff, doctors, nurses, GP's etc into rural areas. Look at Thurso Health centre, had to be taken over by Highland NHS as they could not find doctors. Is not the problem at Wick health centre that they can't get enough full time GP's, most are part time & so getting an appointment is bad.
GP surgeries on the West Coast & Western Isles have huge problems finding GPs. I am sure the same happens in rural areas in England & Wales. It is not a problem with any one NHS district. Therefore we need to know why medical staff are reluctant to go to rural areas, not just Caithness.

I know our concern is Caithness and rightly so but if we find the reason they won't come we may solve the issue of understaffing. Its not just money as extra money in rural areas has been tried

Just wondering if anyone is able to elaborate on what incentive packages, whether they be financial or otherwise, have been offered to GPs and Consultants in the past in an effort to persuade them to relocate?

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 13:58
There is a standard relocation package on offer within the Highlands.

http://www.scotmt.scot.nhs.uk/media/183506/nhs-highland2.pdf

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 14:06
I was also noticing the comment on GPs mostly working part time. I am sure that if you calculate it out they are similar to some hospital staff who can actually cover their hours in a shorter period as in 8-6 is ten hours a day worked over three to four days they will have worked slightly more than part time or indeed full time depending on how many days per week they work. We are desperately short of Gps.

Mother Superior
12-Jan-15, 15:51
There is a standard relocation package on offer within the Highlands.

http://www.scotmt.scot.nhs.uk/media/183506/nhs-highland2.pdf

Thank you Alice. I have had a quick scoot through the document and will take a closer look later. My initial thought is one of surprise that the document is dated June 2004. If this is the current relocation package and it has not changed or been improved for 10 years then someone at NHS Highland has been asleep on the job.

My other thought is that this document requires prospective applicants to rather jump through hoops with all the paperwork to be kept track of (probably in triplicate) and their must be a whole department employed in Inverness to administer the process. I would say keep it simple, none of this messing about, and offer a very large one-off lump sum (Golden Hello) to be refunded in part or full if the applicant does not complete a set term. Reducing paperwork means reducing costs which can be passed on to the relocation scheme.

Just my initial thoughts and no idea if it would make a difference.

Kenn
12-Jan-15, 15:57
My comment was not aimed at any one in particular , I just feel that on such an important issue, whilst we should be able to air our grievances and concerns, we should put aside any personal differences and fight for what we all know to be important. Is that too much to ask?

Mother Superior
12-Jan-15, 16:15
My comment was not aimed at any one in particular , I just feel that on such an important issue, whilst we should be able to air our grievances and concerns, we should put aside any personal differences and fight for what we all know to be important. Is that too much to ask?

Lizz.............................................. .........Bless You.

poppett
12-Jan-15, 16:38
You are quite correct Lizz................so what can we do to help the cause?

Alice, sadly I am too old to work in NHS now, but have passed a mean scalpel in my time to some brilliant surgeons in my previous life.

Weeker I am back in my box with my toys which I share with my neighbour, your friendly multi-drop asco driver.................oops, that should be on another thread.lol.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 17:03
Thank you Alice. I have had a quick scoot through the document and will take a closer look later. My initial thought is one of surprise that the document is dated June 2004. If this is the current relocation package and it has not changed or been improved for 10 years then someone at NHS Highland has been asleep on the job.

I believe this is still the package I know it was six years ago when one Consultant was given so many hoops to jump through and was spoken to in such a manner when he inquired into costs he didnt claim a penny.


My other thought is that this document requires prospective applicants to rather jump through hoops with all the paperwork to be kept track of (probably in triplicate) and their must be a whole department employed in Inverness to administer the process. I would say keep it simple, none of this messing about, and offer a very large one-off lump sum (Golden Hello) to be refunded in part or full if the applicant does not complete a set term. Reducing paperwork means reducing costs which can be passed on to the relocation scheme.
Just my initial thoughts and no idea if it would make a difference.
Golden hellos have been shown to work in previous years along with looking again at the work social life aspect of the job that would be a massive starting point.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 17:16
You are quite correct Lizz................so what can we do to help the cause?

Alice, sadly I am too old to work in NHS now, but have passed a mean scalpel in my time to some brilliant surgeons in my previous life.

Weeker I am back in my box with my toys which I share with my neighbour, your friendly multi-drop asco driver.................oops, that should be on another thread.lol.

I too have hung up my NHS hat and would never put it on again. I have the greatest respect and admiration for those still working in todays NHS its just full of too many chiefs now and not enough indians.

weeker2014
12-Jan-15, 17:40
I was also noticing the comment on GPs mostly working part time. I am sure that if you calculate it out they are similar to some hospital staff who can actually cover their hours in a shorter period as in 8-6 is twelve hours a day worked over three to four days they will have worked slightly more than part time or indeed full time depending on how many days per week they work. We are desperately short of Gps.

I'm sure 8-6 equals 10 hours and not 12

weeker2014
12-Jan-15, 17:42
In my final NHS job before retiring I worked in another hospital, not CGH or Raigmore. New young managers would arrive straight from college or university clutching their certificates in pen pushing. They had no idea about the NHS and were too young to have experienced serious illness and the consequences for the patient and the families. The collective incompetence of these managers resulted in them blundering from one mistake to another and trying to 'protect each others backs'. If a member of staff pointed out a mistake, or how something could be improved, it was taken as a criticism. A culture of bullying and victimisation ensued.

One incident saw our Chief Executive ignore warnings from staff about a particular manager. Those of us who had reported the manager had a torrid time and many of us were victimised to the point of resignation and left. When the CEO eventually realised that we had been telling the truth over £100k had been misappropriated and the manager dismissed on the spot. But too late for many of the staff who had left their jobs. The CEO issued letters ordering that no staff should speak to the press and that the matter was closed. There was no prosecution. Of course, the CEO did not wish to have bad publicity for the hospital on her 'watch' nor have anything detrimental on her own CV. The 'books were cooked' to cover the manager's tracks.

I tell this story by way of saying we are all different . We all have different experiences. My story explains why I will post a fair amount of cynicism where managers are concerned. But I also try and introduce some humour because they deserve to have some fun poked at them. My humour is not meant to trivialise the problem we are discussing. Perhaps one or two posters have lacked a little compassion of late but, as I say, we are all different and we all want to see the same thing which is an improving service from our local hospital.

Oh from reading what you just wrote along with other posts you are a pro in victimisation and bullying. I don't think anyone deserves to have fun poked at them. That's a rather childish approach.

weeker2014
12-Jan-15, 17:45
You are quite correct Lizz................so what can we do to help the cause?

Alice, sadly I am too old to work in NHS now, but have passed a mean scalpel in my time to some brilliant surgeons in my previous life.

Weeker I am back in my box with my toys which I share with my neighbour, your friendly multi-drop asco driver.................oops, that should be on another thread.lol.

Doesn't look like your toys have made it back into the box yet.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 17:59
I'm sure 8-6 equals 10 hours and not 12

apologies for this gone back and sorted it however it still equates to a long day which can and does enable them to work shorter weeks whilst still putting in the hours.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 18:03
The following link was written by a GP.

Its a long read however very enlightening and worth reading I feel.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe-norris/nhs-gp-pay-elephant-in-the-room_b_6385248.html

weeker2014
12-Jan-15, 18:41
The following link was written by a GP.

Its a long read however very enlightening and worth reading I feel.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe-norris/nhs-gp-pay-elephant-in-the-room_b_6385248.html

I may have had more sympathy for GP's if they were not the only members of NHS staff I don't have a good word to say about following the past 2 weeks. I am also pleased to hear that they pay so much in insurance for malpractice, however I reckon some need to pay a lot more than others to counteract their cock ups.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Jan-15, 19:14
Actually I posted that information to show how it may be that we have such a shortage of GPS coming through the system .We have difficulty recruiting both in this area. By reading this it may have given some an idea on how difficult the government also seem to make things.

Alice in Blunderland
13-Jan-15, 19:43
Its a good job that our surgery patients are not having to be transferred to Raigmore

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30796510

They would have to bring their own bed.

weeker2014
13-Jan-15, 19:59
Its a good job that our surgery patients are not having to be transferred to Raigmore

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-30796510

They would have to bring their own bed.

Aberdeen was the same when I was in. Most of the Coronary Care Unit was filled with patients from other wards. The High Dependancy Unit nurse said they had 22 patients in other wards as there was no room for them in High Dependancy.

starfish
13-Jan-15, 20:54
well if they do keep cutting bed this problem will never go away, people do get ill at times do management know this .

Kenn
14-Jan-15, 00:01
poppet, plague NHS Highland with questions, get your MP and MSP on the case and if you don't get any sensible answers go to The Health Minister at Holyrood, in other words make a right noise, ask for answers and if so inclined , remind them there is an election looming !

poppett
14-Jan-15, 09:44
Thank you Lizz..............already on the case and have all these suggestions covered.

Alice in Blunderland
14-Jan-15, 18:42
Thank you Lizz..............already on the case and have all these suggestions covered.

Don't forget the Groat. Any good stories or if you want to write a letter of support fire it in. NHS highland bosses read the newspaper as well as us. :Razz

Alice in Blunderland
22-Jan-15, 14:35
Perfect opportunity to go along and ask all the questions you may have about this make your voice heard.


http://whatson.caithness.org/event.php?id=23446

rose123
22-Jan-15, 16:17
used Wick and Thurso hospitals and is certainly a staffing problem because of where we are on the map, on the other hand have a word with your local MSP ask why the underspend of £440 MILLION plus a ridiculous amount spent on jollies.

Alice in Blunderland
22-Jan-15, 17:36
used Wick and Thurso hospitals and is certainly a staffing problem because of where we are on the map, on the other hand have a word with your local MSP ask why the underspend of £440 MILLION plus a ridiculous amount spent on jollies.

Thats a seperate issue the issue we have in hand at present is recruitment and retention of staff provision of services and management decisions
.

gerry4
23-Jan-15, 23:17
For those who maybe interested, Highland NHS to be grilled by Scottish Parliamentary Audit Committee. Open to the public in Inverness

http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Highland-health-chiefs-face-grilling-over-budget-management-23012015.htm

Kenn
25-Jan-15, 00:09
GRILLED? I 'd opt for burning !

Alice in Blunderland
26-Jan-15, 09:12
I would suspect if the truth was hidden in the past there wont be a sudden attack of conscience nor an outpouring of secrets to the Parliamentary Committee. I would reckon there will be lots of SMA statements.....Save My Ass.

Alice in Blunderland
02-Feb-15, 14:07
Ah well Fridays meeting was shall we say enlightening........NOT. We are making a plan but we dont know what that plan is clear as mud.
We will recruit
We will make CGH a centre of excellence
Ah well lets wait and see.

poppett
02-Feb-15, 20:10
I am still wondering why the screen was set up sideways and there was no microphones so speakers could be heard over the noise of the heater at the back of the hall.

Judging by the parking situation I thought it was going to be a full house, or standing room only, but turned out there were two other groups who meet in the Pentland on a Friday there before us.

Managed a wee bit of networking so my time was not wasted.................not holding my breath for the outcome.

Alice in Blunderland
03-Feb-15, 14:57
Given that yesterdays meeting provided no clear answers from Elaine or Gary I would suggest not holdong your breath. If there was no plan B for the financial crisis what makes you think theres any coherent plan for Caithness General...

Bill Fernie
16-Feb-15, 18:31
A TV company are soon to film an item in Caithness about problems in the health service.

They would like to hear from individuals who feel that their own or relatives lives or health would have been seriously jeopardised if there had not been out of hours services available at the hospital.

Ideally they will probably want to interview people about their circumstances or health incident that saved their lives at the hospital and how it might have been if no service was available at the time.

The programme may cover other problems in health services in the county.

Anyone who would like to pass on information or speak to the TV reporter can contact me by pm, email - bill@caithness.org or phone 01955 609343.

Alice in Blunderland
17-Feb-15, 21:24
I hope as many people give their opinions and stories as possible. Its awful how lately the bad news just keeps on coming.

janeyj
19-Feb-15, 19:51
Has anyone spotted the Inverness Courier article today?
http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/Consultant-hits-back-in-Raigmore-overspend-dispute-19022015.htm

Alice in Blunderland
20-Feb-15, 14:42
I spotted it and I believe most of what is stated. I would however say that when Caithness General was run as part of the Caithness North Sutherland Trust I was always led to believe it managed to balance its books so the dig at rural hospitals may just be sour grapes as Inverness Consultants may be pulled up here to cover.

poppett
20-Feb-15, 16:12
100% agree with you Alice.

janeyj
20-Feb-15, 19:59
I'm disappointed with Ken Macdonald's statement. Surely he should be saying that he takes the criticisms seriously and will be sitting down with the Consultants and seeing how they can improve matters. But no..... the brick wall goes up. Brilliant management!!!!!

Alice in Blunderland
20-Feb-15, 22:17
I'm disappointed with Ken Macdonald's statement. Surely he should be saying that he takes the criticisms seriously and will be sitting down with the Consultants and seeing how they can improve matters. But no..... the brick wall goes up. Brilliant management!!!!!

And there exactly is NHS highlands biggest problem they don't take criticism seriously, brushed under the carpet head up high and keep digging the hole. For years doctors, consultants, nurses and staff from all areas have been telling management they're getting it wrong but alas they have a GOD like attitude and a stubbornness or should we say a sheer arrogance to just keep plodding on or should I say limping. If this was the private sector they would be out of a job by now.

janeyj
21-Feb-15, 14:16
Having read through the Consultant's statement again I find much of what he has written is spot on.. The one thing I would question are his 'musings' about the rural hospitals. I would like to hear more of an explanation of his thinking there. Knowing Ken Macdonald, as I do, I am afraid it is absolutely typical of him that he should call the Consultant's statement a ridiculous rant. When the Consultant reads that his words have been interpreted in this way then he will, by association, believe that his own Medical Director is calling him, a Senior Consultant, ridiculous. What will that do for morale? Will we see another Consultant resignation? I am afraid Ken Macdonald has, through his own words, confirmed as correct the Consultant's claims about bullying etc by management. Well done Ken! It is about time NHS Highland began respecting their staff from top to bottom but I'm not holding my breath.

poppett
21-Feb-15, 19:26
Welcome Janeyj.

I remember many moons ago when the RNI in Inverness was a centre of surgical excellence. We had a matron who was seen about the hospital at different times of the day, always with a beady eye on the whole picture. On her rounds she noted paint scuffs, damage to fittings, lights not working etc., and her list went in a communications diary. Usually whatever she had seen on Monday was sorted by Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest. Some of the wards had jam jars of paint and brushes ready to touch up scuffs as we saw them as we were proud of our surroundings and wanted to be the very best.

Sister on ENT ward had a thing about domestic staff not being seen by the consultant when he was on his rounds to the extent that they were shut in the store cupboard. One day Mr Anderson (sadly long gone) spotted what was happening and made the remark to sister that without her team of nurses and domestic staff she would not have wards suitable to nurse his patients and he would not have a sterile operating theatre to work in.

Yes, there would have been a board of management to whom Matron and Mr Anderson would have reported and somebody supervising the pot of money, but what strikes me about the NHS nowadays is that there are too many closed doors with names of management on them and not enough effort going into appreciating the front line staff.

bagpuss
21-Feb-15, 20:08
To be honest, if the level of care is better in Inverness or further south, why not accept that CGH will return to the pre 1987 levels of being a cottage hospital.

Alice in Blunderland
22-Feb-15, 17:01
To be honest, if the level of care is better in Inverness or further south, why not accept that CGH will return to the pre 1987 levels of being a cottage hospital.

Absolutely not why should NHS services in Caithness be going backwards instead of forwards. As a county we are entitled to have investment in our Health Service Provision why should management get away with making a complete balls up of services as lets face it that's what they've done Why should we accept a second class service. Certain services provided for in Inverness yes however there are many services which can and should be delivered right on our doorstep we are not a county of backward people so why should we be given a backward moving service !

Alice in Blunderland
22-Feb-15, 17:05
Apart from the fact that so many beds in Raigmore have also disappeared over the years not only will you be taking your own pillow youll be taking your ownbed down with you. Raigmore in itself cannot cope with a sudden influx of extra work from the rural general hospitals, I'm calling Caithness that as management have already stated they don't recognise the term cottage hospital but given they dont recognise how to carry out a proper intensive recruitment campaign nuff said I reckon.

poppett
22-Feb-15, 19:54
Some of the best doctors and nurses I have known have been partly trained in Caithness, some of them made the choice to return until their position was untennable.

Dadie
07-Mar-15, 01:13
What about unseen circumstances due to weather ...Winter 2009/10 is in my mind ....was going to have to go to Inverness to have my youngest due to preg complications. but had him in Wick as there was no time for the air ambulance to be arranged(he was born in 20 mins from outset of labour).....no road ambulances running due to the road conditions ...what if a RTA happened in those conditions? slice n dice n sewn up so patched up enough to travel to Inverness and the transport cannot safely do the trip due to weather conditions ...huge farming community up here and accidents are thankfully rare but when they happen they are at the more serious end of the scale ...crush injuries etc or bog standard re attachement of fingers etc(complicated surgery to get full movement) with complications of dirty farm equipment to deal with....never within "office hours" as no one works 9-5 these days .
Then there is Dounreay and contam issues if something goes really wrong ...unlikely but could happen and if it did it would prob be in silent hours so less staff involved ...big probs for CGH and an injured person would overload them.

Alice in Blunderland
07-Mar-15, 12:47
So the director of surgery now says we dont need 24hr surgical cover........why then over the last umpteen years have NHS Highland been wasting such valuable resources by employing surgeons to cover twenty four hours eh ? Why have NHS Highland only NOW starting announcing this ? Why do we as an area feel we are being treated like mushrooms....kept in the dark and fed nothing but sh&t ??

You can roll out as many senior Inverness based monkeys as you want until the organ grinder starts addressing the issues prior to the proverbial hitting the fan then some folk might start to have a little more faith in NHS Highland management....

Oh by the way have you ever released yet how intensive the recruitment campaign for CGH truly was I have a good few years BMJs in front of me and there doesnt seem to be much for Caithness in them. Hmmm must have invested all your money on the bus signs in Liverpool yes really good one doctors down there being inticed to an area where the boss says wee don't really need you 24/7......nuff said

Kenn
10-Mar-15, 00:42
From what I am seeing reported in the press and other media sources those in charge of NHS Highland need lessons in basic skills for running things. We are being given excuse followed by more excuses and policies that are costly and inefficient.
I am beginning to think that all NHS executives should be given a basic grounding in economics, customer care and honesty and that those who can't step up to the task should be dismissed with no pay offs, for too long there has been the ethos that as an essential service there will always be money to bail it out.

kosacid
10-Mar-15, 01:21
well just the other month there wee had to take my boy down he is just 7 months old, wee got down there fine but on the way back it was -5 just after helmsdale wee were going down hill i was doing about 30 down the hill, well wee hit black ice i lost control of the car by the time i got control back i was doing 60 and just made it round the corner dont know how but i did just before hitting the barrier, when it comes down to it me my wife and my boy about died in a car crash for a 5 min appointment, would it not more sense to send a kids doctor up for a few days every month to do consultations, it will save money to because i claimed £40 and there was a few others for up here doing the same it all adds up

janeyj
10-Mar-15, 15:05
Lizz and Kosacid I recommend both your posts. In their own different ways they highlight so much of what is wrong with our NHS service in the North. The sad truth is that if your posts were to be read by any NHS Executive they wouldn't see or understand the problems you are highlighting.

Kosacid I am so pleased that you and your family got home safely.

janeyj
12-Mar-15, 10:12
Article in the North Star this week about Gary Coutts, Elaine Mead and Nick Kenton (NHS Highland) being called to a meeting in Holyrood to explain a few things. I believe they are not very happy bunnies.

Alice in Blunderland
13-Mar-15, 11:08
It will be interesting to see if they tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth........Its wrong all the answers should have been there first time round. Caithness General is an excellent hospital with excellent staff they must be under terrible stress at present with this ongoing situation.

Kenn
15-Mar-15, 00:58
Thank you janeyj for your comments.
For the last few years I have been requesting costing from NHS Highland, they have managed to supply some of the figures I wanted but even applying to Holyrood under The Freedom of Information Act ,I have failed to get others as they are not recorded or broken down by region.
I see every day the plight of this essential service and yet am unable to get accurate figures. I did note however that there is now a move to stop the use of locums and possibly an increase in increments to try and persuade medical staff that living in The Highlands is worth their while. I have never however seen any adverts that actively promote the area, it's lack of crime, inexpensive housing,stunning countryside and wild life that contribute to a much higher standard of living than is enjoyed through most of this island nation.

Dadie
15-Mar-15, 01:07
Excellent hospital and excellent staff does not excuse the higher management for the downgrading of facilities again.
All it takes is 1 big accident involving 2 people out of hours that need emergency life threatening care and Wick will be over stretched ...
As for stress ...it is handed over by the powers to be due to staff shortages and we will cope mentality which isn't healthy.
We need a hospital that can preserve life in life threatening circumstances to national standards or beyond, out of hours as well as the 9-5 care.
The nurses still care...the docs still care ...the service is cut back too much to care.

poppett
16-Mar-15, 09:14
Fully agree Dadie.

katarina
26-Apr-15, 16:47
Can anyone tell me who is responsible for all this downgrading? If it's the Scottish government, I certainly won't be voting SNP!

BetterTogether
26-Apr-15, 16:54
The SNP have devolved powers for the NHS in Scotland.

It is reported they have withheld over £400 million in funding from Scotland NHS in the past year.

Also it is reported that increases in spending have been only 1.7% compared to 4.5% in England.

No doubt their supporters will find a thousand excuses to blame Westminster for Scottish NHS promises but the day to day running and funding is purely down to the SNP and has been since they've held power in Scotland for the last seven years.

PantsMAN
28-Apr-15, 19:15
The SNP have devolved powers for the NHS in Scotland.

It is reported they have withheld over £400 million in funding from Scotland NHS in the past year.

Also it is reported that increases in spending have been only 1.7% compared to 4.5% in England.

No doubt their supporters will find a thousand excuses to blame Westminster for Scottish NHS promises but the day to day running and funding is purely down to the SNP and has been since they've held power in Scotland for the last seven years.

Not that you're a little bit anti-SNP or anything!

"It is reported" "also it is reported" - aye, by whom?

Behave.

BetterTogether
28-Apr-15, 21:49
Not that you're a little bit anti-SNP or anything!"It is reported" "also it is reported" - aye, by whom?Behave.
Most reputable media outlets have the figures available.

Not anti SNP just not taken in by anything they say as being any more gospel than any other party.

I think my better half put into context when she said she's getting a bit sick of the SNP dominating the general election programming and media at the moment.

It is supposed to be a General Election for the whole UK, I fully accept that the SNP have a voice in Scotland and speak for their 100,000 or so members and may well get a good amount of seats, but the sad reality is the population of Scotland isn't even as large as that of London buts it's dominating the whole election campaign for the whole UK.

I watched Evan Davies interview with Nicola Sturgeon and she was not better at giving straight answers than any other party leader even when it came down to matters which don't affect Scotland she was very circumspect in not giving a straight answer, it basically boiled down to if there's any remote possibility it might effect Scotland they will vote on it.

It all seems very shabby no better than any other leader but whichever way the cookie crumbles on Election Day she will only have around 2 to 2.5 million votes that's if the pundits are correct. The population of the UK is around 65 million whichever way it falls if the SNP wade in blocking policies and rocking the boat it won't sit well with the majority of the electorate.

Alice in Blunderland
29-Apr-15, 13:50
The SNP or any other party can spend as much money as they want on NHS Highland. If ts badly run then, its badly run. Surely ?

poppett
29-Apr-15, 19:20
Absolutely.

Like any good engine if it is not fed with quality fuel and well maintained it will not run properly.

Too many chiefs and not enough indians, as I have said from the start.

One Matron used to run whole hospitals it now takes two corridors of office wallahs to run.

Alice in Blunderland
05-May-15, 07:45
Can anyone tell me who is responsible for all this downgrading? If it's the Scottish government, I certainly won't be voting SNP!

The hospital isnt being downgraded.....its a redesign project !!

Its NHS Highland management who are responsible for this circus NOT SNP government.

poppett
16-Jul-15, 15:12
Most recent development is that cataract daycare surgery is not happening in Wick for some time as two lynchpin staff are both on maternity leave and there is no locum cover due to general shortage of opthalmologists.

Waiting times are almost double national average of 7-9 weeks, Raigmore can not cope with extra operations so patients longest/most urgent/make complaint are being offered consultation at Golden Jubilee at Clydebank. As a result their waiting time average from diagnosis to consultation of 4 - 6 weeks is stretching to 6 - 8 weeks and by the end of the month it will be 10 weeks.

The good thing about going to Clydebank is that 4 star accommodation is provided free of charge for up to three nights (and longer if clinically required for the patients wellbeing)

We were there this week and had no complaints about the hospital or the hotel. We did eat in the hospital canteen as times were more convenient for clinic appointments. Food was of hotel quality, nicely presented and piping hot.

Thanks to a forward thinking lady in Finance office in Inverness they even have a supply of the new style refund form for travel expenses.

Whilst it is good to know hubby`s surgeries will go ahead and he is in good hands, it would have been far more convenient for the operations to have been done in Wick.

grumpyhippo
04-Aug-15, 20:13
Will the last one out please switch out the lights http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Pages/JuniordoctortrainingonholdatCaithnessGeneralHospit al1.aspx

Niall Fernie
04-Aug-15, 21:02
It might help if they advertised their jobs as efficiently as they disseminate their news.

Alice in Blunderland
05-Aug-15, 19:54
It might help if they advertised their jobs as efficiently as they disseminate their news.

Or if they had been a little nicer to the Only Medical Consultant they had left in the hospital.....

Alice in Blunderland
05-Aug-15, 20:08
Let me think lack of Junior Doctors
Lack of Medical Consultants
Lack of GPs
Difficulty in recruiting in ALL of these fields yet they say they will carry on with non training junior Doctors ( love to know where you are going to magic these from more Locums ) and Locum Consultants ....fine mess this is isnt it....

gerry4
05-Aug-15, 21:15
Yes things are not good in Caithness but the NHS is in crisis in the whole of the UK as this article points out, re the NHS in England http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/04/nhs-told-to-fill-vacancies-only-where-essential-due-to-looming-funding-crisis There are no easy answers and if I knew the answer maybe I would be slightly wealtheir than I am now.

Alice in Blunderland
10-Aug-15, 08:48
Accepted the NHS is in crisis in many parts of the UK but what we have here in Caithness is beyond belief.

There is no doubt in my mind that there is an alternative motive going on here.

There is no way management can say we have been actively recruiting yet we have seen very little national adverts in the appropriate magazines. I'm sorry but sticking stupid wee posts on Caithness.org is really a waste of everyone's resources. Senior staff not local to this area are not going to be scanning Caithness.org for jobs ( sorry Bill ) they are looking in the national magazines for their speciality for the most attractive positions with the most attractive pay to reward them end off. No one is going to come to Wick in its current mess. There is no long term future, there is no job satisfaction..... hello management just go onto the shop floor and speak to your staff they are most of them at rock bottom. Staff are overworked, undervalued, undermined, opinions ignored and most definitely as far as Im concerned underpaid. There has been over the years a bullying issue within Caithness general at ALL levels NEVER appropriately addressed admit it !! In which other hospital would you get away with one member of staff telling another publicly your lot should be put in a boat and sent home.....yip you guessed it Caithness General makes your golliwog issue seem tame. !!!

The latest Consultant left after only a short tenure WHY. Was the consultant made to feel so welcome and supported even if they were not up to scratch ? Were they given ample opportunity to settle in and find their feet or were they thrown in the deep end with not so much as a paddle ??

Were management on the face of it at least nice to this Consultant? Or is there any truth in the story that they were horrible to them.....if its not working out grow a pair of balls admit you employed the wrong person and give notice.

I cant wait for the new model for Caithness General to be rolled out as there will still be the age old saga of recruitment unless its a case of instead of it being a nurse led maternity unit as has been tried for in the past ..... its a nurse led hospital with a few emergency doctors thrown in the mix !!!

neilsermk1
11-Aug-15, 12:29
Does any one know if they have the same difficulties recruiting and retaining resources in Orkney and Shetland, or is this confined to Caithness General Hospital

cptdodger
11-Aug-15, 13:02
You should just ask what happened to Dr Shallcross, and that will give you an idea as to what is happening at Caithness General.

Shaggy
11-Aug-15, 17:17
You should just ask what happened to Dr Shallcross, and that will give you an idea as to what is happening at Caithness General.

What happened to Dr. Shallcross?

cptdodger
11-Aug-15, 19:52
What happened to Dr. Shallcross?

From what I understand, and forgive me if I am wrong because it was a while ago my GP told me this, his working conditions were changed quite suddenly (what was changed I do'nt know) he did'nt want to change them so had no option but to leave. He certainly was'nt happy about it, and to be honest neither was I, the only reason I agreed to move here was because he was at Caithness General. I say him, but I mean a Consultant that had enough knowledge to treat me. I seemingly have quite a rare condition, which very few of the GP's I have had here have any knowledge of, let alone Consultants. I honestly would not have moved here had I known he would not be replaced, and he wont be.

Alice in Blunderland
12-Aug-15, 23:03
From what I understand, and forgive me if I am wrong because it was a while ago my GP told me this, his working conditions were changed quite suddenly (what was changed I do'nt know) he did'nt want to change them so had no option but to leave. He certainly was'nt happy about it, and to be honest neither was I, the only reason I agreed to move here was because he was at Caithness General. I say him, but I mean a Consultant that had enough knowledge to treat me. I seemingly have quite a rare condition, which very few of the GP's I have had here have any knowledge of, let alone Consultants. I honestly would not have moved here had I known he would not be replaced, and he wont be.

There were many factors as to why he left not necessarily his working conditions more like the way everything was heading with the hospital.Again management didnt exactly try to make him stay after all the dedicated years he put into establishing and running the service here. He stated on many occasions the service could not continue as it was they didnt listen to him then but look what they are saying now ......

cptdodger
12-Aug-15, 23:48
As I was saying, it was just a comment made in passing by one of the numerous GP's I had. But the feeling I got was, if he didn't like it, leave. As you say, look at the mess we are in now.

neilsermk1
13-Aug-15, 12:22
Is there a recruitment and retention issue with Orkney or Shetland NHS service provision ?

cptdodger
13-Aug-15, 14:51
Is there a recruitment and retention issue with Orkney or Shetland NHS service provision ?

I do'nt know about that, but I do know the Consultants (if they are still there) only deal with general medicine, and do'nt specialise, as in there are certainly no gastroenterologists and so on.

Alice in Blunderland
14-Aug-15, 20:05
I do'nt know about that, but I do know the Consultants (if they are still there) only deal with general medicine, and do'nt specialise, as in there are certainly no gastroenterologists and so on.

A bit like it was general internal medicine consultants with an interest in certain fields however its been a long time since we have had a gastroenterologist. In general there is a recruitment crisis nationwide.

cptdodger
14-Aug-15, 20:23
The only reason I know that about the Shetland's and the Orkney's is because my Gastroenterologist was off sick and I needed to find out about medication I had been put on, and ended up phoning half of Britain (that's what it felt like anyway) just to try and get some advice. I'm not blaming the Consultant for being off sick, but I was left high and dry due to an awful lack of Gastroenterologists in our region. If it had carried on I was going to ask if I could get transferred back to Ninewells in Dundee, but that's a different NHS region, so I doubt they would have allowed it.

Alice in Blunderland
31-Aug-15, 07:01
I see the adverts are out for Rural GPs based in Caithness General and a Consultant with a special interest in Geriatrics. I take it that the redesign of services has concluded and a pathway forward for Caithness General has been discussed and agreed and everyone knows whats going to happen now with our hospital
?

neilsermk1
31-Aug-15, 12:18
I see the adverts are out for Rural GPs based in Caithness General and a Consultant with a special interest in Geriatrics. I take it that the redesign of services has concluded and a pathway forward for Caithness General has been discussed and agreed and everyone knows whats going to happen now with our hospital
? Why would anyone in the NHS let the paying customers know what they have decided on our behalf. The service we get isnt even 3rd rate. Keep taking the tablets Alice.

poppett
03-Sep-15, 18:19
There was a separate thread about NHS travel costs, but I can`t find it, so will throw my hat in the ring here.

Seems as a result of two staff who used to do the outreach cataract surgeries in Wick both being on maternity leave the list gets longer, but Golden Jubilee hospital at Clydebank are trying to take up some of the slack seeing ten Highland patients a week. If anybody is lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to have their surgery at Clydebank do not be daunted by the distance. The hospital put you up in the adjacent Beardmore Hotel for two nights and pick up the tab for the room so no outlay. NHS highland only pay 15pence per mile travel by car, but if you go to the cash office behind the main reception the cashier there can refund 16 pence a mile, and his google map says the journey is longer than the inverness calculation is.

tonkatojo
04-Sep-15, 10:37
Why would anyone in the NHS let the paying customers know what they have decided on our behalf. The service we get isnt even 3rd rate. Keep taking the tablets Alice.

I saw this 4-5 year ago and had to leave Caithness for access to a hospital close at hand that could give me more than just the "pills" Alice. On reflection the hospitals down in Newcastle area have all the facilities staff on hand but the wait to see them is terrible, even appointments waited for 6 months get cancelled at the last minute for staff reasons, it is country wide the problems, at least living in Caithness I could see my GP Dr Brown in Canisbay the same day if not the next whilst down here your lucky if an appointment is within 2 weeks, seeing the practice nurse is just as bad if not worse. Times I wish I was back North.

neilsermk1
04-Sep-15, 12:39
I saw this 4-5 year ago and had to leave Caithness for access to a hospital close at hand that could give me more than just the "pills" Alice. On reflection the hospitals down in Newcastle area have all the facilities staff on hand but the wait to see them is terrible, even appointments waited for 6 months get cancelled at the last minute for staff reasons, it is country wide the problems, at least living in Caithness I could see my GP Dr Brown in Canisbay the same day if not the next whilst down here your lucky if an appointment is within 2 weeks, seeing the practice nurse is just as bad if not worse. Times I wish I was back North.Tonka, the GP appointments in Thurso are not much better, If you can get an appointment its probably with a locum you have never met before.

Alice in Blunderland
07-Sep-15, 07:01
Tonka, the GP appointments in Thurso are not much better, If you can get an appointment its probably with a locum you have never met before.

Thats because as withe the hospital the GPs cant get anyone to come here to work this is across the Country as well as in Caithness. We need to have some amazing incentives to attract these staff North of which we have .....now let me see.........very few. I dont just mean Salary there are other attractions that senior Drs look for such as further training, study leave,sabbaticals etc.

squidge
15-Sep-15, 07:19
NHS highland are advertising for a new chairperson as Garry CouttsIs standing down. Take a look and apply.

https://applications.appointed-for-scotland.org/pages/job_search_view.aspx?jobId=925&JobIndex=3&categoryList=&minsal=0&maxsal=150000&workingPatternList=&keywords=&PageIndex=1&Number=9

cptdodger
15-Sep-15, 08:11
How is employing somebody at nearly £30 thousand a year, going to solve the issue of a severe lack of basic services, a lack of Consultants and a lack of GP's in this area ?

golach
15-Sep-15, 09:27
How is employing somebody at nearly £30 thousand a year, going to solve the issue of a severe lack of basic services, a lack of Consultants and a lack of GP's in this area ?
Exactly my thoughts also.

squidge
15-Sep-15, 11:06
Well I dont know that it is - but as Garry Coutts has been chairperson for the last 12 years and no one seems happy with the NHS service in Caithness then it seems likely that there is an opportunity for someone to change the way the NHS is run. The chairperson of the board has the opportunity to do exactly that. I thought that perhaps somebody reading this might have the experience and knowledge to be able to do that and how good would it be to have someone in charge that has the best interests of the service at the heart of what they do, and understands the particular difficulties facing places like Caithness. I just thought its sensible to bring to people's attention so they can apply if they want.

neilsermk1
15-Sep-15, 12:37
Well said Squidge, there must be someone out there with the necessary Experience Training and Knowledge to take up the post.

poppett
15-Sep-15, 18:21
My vote would be for Alice in Blunderland.

Alice in Blunderland
15-Sep-15, 19:28
My NHS days are over I would think it would take more than one person to change this car crash happening. I would think it would take a few people to step aside and put those with the best interests of Caithness in charge and put all control back to a local level for start what works for Raigmore doesnt necessarily work for Caithness.

norma stewart
15-Sep-15, 19:42
I think it would take a lot of work too get wick hospital up too the 21st century.

cptdodger
15-Sep-15, 22:12
You could have a state of the art hospital in Wick, what difference would it make though if you cannot get anybody to staff it, as in Consultants or Doctors. No amount of people sitting round a table are going to solve the problem that people just do not want to work and live here.


I spent over a year attending a surgery in Thurso in that time I maybe saw one of the Dr's twice, because of what's wrong with me I had to go there quite often.
The surgery and staff that were permanent were lovely, but the problem was lack of continuity, having to explain in great detail what was wrong with me every single time got a bit wearing to be honest.

norma stewart
16-Sep-15, 08:28
The staff are ok at the hospital and they need too get hygiene up too standard

cptdodger
16-Sep-15, 10:21
The staff are ok at the hospital and they need too get hygiene up too standard

I am not in any way knocking the staff at Caithness General, they have been excellent the couple of times I have had to go there. I say a couple because I have to go to Raigmore for everything else, including on one occasion having my blood taken.

The problem is, there is not enough Consultants or Dr's there that specialise, and going by what my Consultant at Raigmore told me, there never will be.

grumpyhippo
01-Oct-15, 18:11
I expect it will be in the Groat tomorrow but here's the advance notice........The maternity unit in CGH is going to become Community Midwifery Unit with almost immediate effect. NHS Highland will put some sort of gloss on the decision and deny that it means a poorer service......'me thinks they do protest too much'

squidge
01-Oct-15, 20:10
I don't think this is acceptable. Is there any group set up to fight this?

grumpyhippo
01-Oct-15, 20:41
Shout as loud as you like but I suspect nobody is listening. In fact I am pretty sure NHS Highland doesn't want to listen.

squidge
01-Oct-15, 21:47
You may be right grumpy hippo but I'll still be interested to know if anything is happening.

cptdodger
01-Oct-15, 22:48
I expect it will be in the Groat tomorrow but here's the advance notice........The maternity unit in CGH is going to become Community Midwifery Unit with almost immediate effect. NHS Highland will put some sort of gloss on the decision and deny that it means a poorer service......'me thinks they do protest too much'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scotland/highlands_and_islands

It's bad enough losing a child, but when it is preventable - that is unforgivable.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34177182

The situation is not going to get any better any time soon.

Alice in Blunderland
02-Oct-15, 07:11
Could see this coming a mile off. Now for the reduction in hospital services and we don't need a crystal ball to predict this one. Any day soon everyone will be met at the doors of A&E and dispatched elsewhere watch this space.

Heres a suggestion just assess them in the ambulance and that would save you even more !!

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 07:30
I wish I had then I wouldn't have moved here. I made sure there was a Consultant available here before doing so. I have watched the health service deteriorate over the past six years, to the extent it is now costing lives. But you are right, Caithness General is now not fit for purpose.

Fulmar
02-Oct-15, 08:27
I continue to receive very good care at Caithness General (as an out-patient) and have no complaints. We recently had to go to A and E in the middle of the night and we were dealt with quickly and thoroughly and professionally at all stages and felt reassured about the nature of the problem and that we had a correct diagnosis and follow up to be put in place.

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 08:51
I have no problem with the staff at Caithness General - at all. You are very fortunate that you can be treated as an out patient there, but I along with an awful lot of people that live in Caithness and Sutherland are not that fortunate. A couple of years back I was waiting for the bus in Inverness a lady asked if I could look after her 93 year old mother who was traveling back to Wick (her daughter had traveled from her home in Aberdeen to meet her mother). The lady had had to go to Raigmore for a specific eye test, they have the equipment in CGH, but nobody to operate it. I had to make sure the lady got on the Wick bus at Dunbeath, thankfully her neighbour was going to meet her. This is just one example, the lady was frail and practically blind. The journey itself was distressing enough for her. It is just not good enough.

squidge
02-Oct-15, 10:17
You are absolutely right CPT it isn't good enough. On the maternity issue whilst NHS Highland are packaging this as improving patient safety I think that this down grading is something that they have been trying to do for ages. Surely though the answer to improving the safety of pregnant mums and their babies is not to by downgrading the service they get. NHS Highland continually appear to be utterly hopeless at continuity planning and supporting rural services and I would suggest needs a good clear out and overhaul. Similar issues are being faced in Fort William and it's not good enough across the board.

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 10:42
I am so fortunate, I am past the age for having children, if I had lived in Caithness, and been pregnant with these circumstances I would probably have lost two of my children, and possibly with one of my pregnancies lost my life as well. I cannot imagine the horror of turning up at one hospital, in labour and being sent well over a hundred miles away to another hospital. It is unthinkable. My heart absolutely goes out to the couple that lost their precious baby, certain people should be on their knees apologising for that.

Fulmar
02-Oct-15, 12:46
Well, I've had to travel to Raigmore and Aberdeen for scans and operations as well and if I need more treatment, that will be the same again for me. My heart does go out to folk like those whom you describe. I am surprised however, that the lady was in that position as in all circumstances where I live, a friend or neighbour is happy to step in and do a run to Raigmore- and there is also a patient transport service.
I do not expect there to be specialists in all disciplines up here and am happy to travel as I want the best care available for myself and my family. All I can say is that we have received good care at Caithness General and speak as I find.
My heart does go out to the expectant Mums and I think it is very much an individual choice as to where you would prefer to go. It is dreadful when a baby is lost, there are no words for it. But there is not going to be all the necessary specialist maternal and paediatric care available locally for when something goes wrong as there are not enough births to justify it or specialists to come and work here. I would hope that a helicopter would always be available (as it is for head injuries and others who need to be whisked off to Aberdeen etc) but I do not know if that is the case.

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 15:48
From what I could gather from the lady's daughter, she valued her independence, and didn't want to put anybody out, apart from that I can't tell you.

The expectant mothers that live here have no choice now and that is a sad state of affairs. And I hope this us very much publicised so that any young couple or family moving to this area can make an informed decision. In fact, the total lack of health care should be publicised.

You may be happy to travel all over the place to get healthcare, but there is an awful lot of people that will not feel the same way, I certainly don't I can assure you. Every single time I want to see a Doctor, I have to travel to Raigmore, as I said, had I known the health service provided was going to deteriorate so badly over the past six years, I would not have moved here.

Scunner
02-Oct-15, 17:37
quote

And I hope this us very much publicised so that any young couple or family moving to this area can make an informed decision. In fact, the total lack of health care should be publicised.



It is the first time I have made any comment on this forum re the NHS in Caithness. The above post must surely be very off putting for anyone coming to our lovely county

Fulmar
02-Oct-15, 17:44
Sadly, it is the same if not worse, in many other areas of the UK. If you need a particular type of treatment, you often have to go to where the specialist centre is and that is quite often in a hospital some distance away from where you live. I am in touch with people that have the same thing as I have and they jump through far more hoops than I do- and also, often have to 'chase' things that should happen automatically and be cut and dried.
The health service up here saved my bacon anyway- I would not be here if it had not been for them and the excellent treatment received for which I could not be more grateful- and that is all within the last 4 years- and I have lived here for 30 years.

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 18:00
quote

And I hope this us very much publicised so that any young couple or family moving to this area can make an informed decision. In fact, the total lack of health care should be publicised.



It is the first time I have made any comment on this forum re the NHS in Caithness. The above post must surely be very off putting for anyone coming to our lovely county

Lovely doesn't quite cut it when you have moved your family here lock stock and barrel, and then find out about the lack of health care available in this area. I wish I had had this information.

cptdodger
02-Oct-15, 18:04
Sadly, it is the same if not worse, in many other areas of the UK. If you need a particular type of treatment, you often have to go to where the specialist centre is and that is quite often in a hospital some distance away from where you live. I am in touch with people that have the same thing as I have and they jump through far more hoops than I do- and also, often have to 'chase' things that should happen automatically and be cut and dried.
The health service up here saved my bacon anyway- I would not be here if it had not been for them and the excellent treatment received for which I could not be more grateful- and that is all within the last 4 years- and I have lived here for 30 years.

And you will find in other areas of the UK the public transport system is far superior to what we have here. I don't drive and have had to cancel appointments at Raigmore because I would not be able to get home. I would be able to get back to Thurso but would not be able to get from there to where I live as there are no buses available.

norma stewart
02-Oct-15, 20:07
This terriable tradegy should never of happened in this day and age at a hospital.my condolunces too the baby's family.