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SACH 2009 Symposium
7th November 2009
The 2009 Symposium of the SACH was held on October 30/31 at the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld.
The conference was opened by Derek Feeley, Director Healthcare Policy and Strategy, eHealth Directorate, Scottish Government. Derek spoke about the just-published draft of the Quality Strategy and described the quality framework Community Hospitals will be working in for the next few years. Next on the podium was Consultant Geriatrician, National Clinical Lead LTTC and JIT Associate Dr Anne Hendry. Dr Hendry discussed Whole Team, Whole System Pathways with regard to the over 65s and how this can be used to ensure that, as well as living longer, they also live better.
Brian Slater, Policy Manager, Scottish Government, was next to face the SACH audience, with his talk on Delayed Discharge – Sustaining Zero. Brian explained that, having faced a situation where there were thousands of delayed discharges, the issue has been so successfully tackled, it is now considered a failure when the number of delayed discharges rises above zero.
The event’s keynote speaker was Dr Kevin Woods, Director General Health and Chief Executive, NHS Scotland. Dr Woods provided an overview of progress within NHS Scotland and entreated the delegates to make a success of partnership at a local level as this will enable health services in Scotland to flourish.
Dr Woods was followed by a presentation by Stephen Gallagher, the Scottish Government’s Interim Deputy Director, Health Delivery and Head of Improvement and Support. Stephen’s presentation focused on Whole System Improvement and the contribution of Community Hospitals, a theme which was perfectly complemented by the next speaker, Susan Bishop, National, Programme Manager, LTCC Collaborative, who discussed Releasing Time to Care – The Productive Community Hospitals Programme.
The day finished with a session looking at Telehealth. Chaired by Dr Chris Stewart, Director of Clinical Development, NHS 24, this session enabled delegates to hear how telehealth is currently being used and how it could be used in the future. The session also included demonstrations in the latest developments in telehealth by the Scottish Centre for Telehealth, EMIS Web, INPS and Tandberg.
The opening presentation on Saturday, October 31 was by David Piggot, Interim Chief Executive, NHS Orkney and JIT Associate. David, who has held this post since March 2009, spoke about the challenges involved in providing health care in Orkney and the solutions that have been developed to combat these challenges.
Next was a series of short presentations on developments and innovations across Community Hospitals. Chris Sugden, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Medical Director of St Andrew’s Hospice, Airdrie described the National Resuscitation Policy for Scotland (DNA CPR), why it was needed, how it was developed and the importance of integrating this policy into the relevant areas. Dr Peter Kiehlmann, GP, Aberdeen and National Clinical Lead, Palliative Care eHealth, Scottish Government followed this up with his talk on The Electronic Palliative Care Summary, which has been available in all GP practices in Scotland since November 2, 2009.
Having presented at the 2008 SACH Symposium about the still-being-built Clackmannanshire Community Healthcare Centre, Kathy O’Neill, General Manager, Clackmannanshire CHP, returned to the 2009 Symposium to provide an update on the newly-opened Clackmannanshire Community Healthcare Centre and the benefits it is bringing to patients, staff, GPs, the CHP and the local community.
The final short presentation was by Ann Murray, Falls Programme Manager, NHS QIS, who provided an interesting and informative overview of the National Programme for Prevention & Management of Falls and Fragility Fractures:
Next, Helene Marshall, Director of The Scottish Multiprofessional Maternity Development Programme, told delegates about the Programme, why it had been developed, what it does and the accessible, relevant, skills-led education the programme provides. Helene (along with Dr Phil Owen, Consultant Obstetrician, Glasgow; Jaki Lambert, Team Lead Midwife, Oban; and Dr Hamish Greig, GP, SACH) also provided a well-attended and very helpful Clinical Session on Managing Post-Partum Haemorrhage in Community Hospitals.
Dr Andrew Buist, Deputy Chair, Scottish General Practitioners’ Committee, BMA took to the podium to discuss the GP Contract and how this will impact on Community Hospitals and GPs working in Community Hospitals. Dr Buist was joined by Dr Jim Grant, who has been very closely involved in developing a contract in Tayside which will change the way services are delivered in the area’s Community Hospitals and will provide GPs with the support they need.
The final speaker of the Symposium was supposed to be Dr Hamish McBride but, following a mysterious accident, Dr McBride was replaced by one of his patients – Farmer Smith (who keener-eyed delegates reckoned looked very similar to Dr McBride, despite his boiler suit and wellies!). Farmer Smith stressed the importance of diversification and bringing new people in to an organisation, which led to a heated discussion about how – or if - the SACH could diversify and how it could attract new members.
A full report on the SACH 2009 Symposium will be provided in the December issue of the SACH Newsletter and will also be available on the SACH website.
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