Health body delivers results of Caithness General visit
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THE threat of junior doctors being removed from Caithness General has been lifted following a review by an independent body.
But it has called for new arrangements to be put in place for the training of the doctors, improved supervision and follow-up visits.
That was confirmed after NHS Education for Scotland (NES) visited the Wick hospital following concerns about the lack of consultants to supervise the junior doctors’ training.
The body, which is accountable to the General Medical Council (GMC), could have withdrawn the doctors if it was unhappy with the training system.
At present, Caithness General only has five of its 12 consultant posts filled.
Following the visit last month, NES made a number of recommendations. They include:
- Enhanced monitoring at Caithness General.
- The framing of an implementation plan with clear actions, responsibilities and timescales.
- A named person from NES to work with NHS Highland / Caithness General.
- A follow-up visit from NES by the end of March and a full visit within six to 12 months or earlier, should it be required.
The visit on February 13 was to assess whether the support for postgraduate medical trainees was in line with GMC standards.
An NEC spokesman said: “The visit was prompted by a shortage of substantive consultants in post and continued heavy reliance on locums and the potential impact on the quality of training and supervision of doctors in training.
“The potential of Caithness General as a training environment for foundation doctors and GP speciality trainees is real and is encapsulated by a quote from one of the trainees: ‘It’s a good place to learn; I’ve never learned so much.’”
The spokesman, however, added that trainees also outlined their concerns about the implications of the current position for their safe supervision.
Responding to the findings, Dr Emma Watson, director of medical education for NHS Highland, said: “The concerns raised by NES about the training environment at Caithness General Hospital serve to highlight the challenges that exist with the current arrangements.
“We are grateful to NES for their visit and welcome their feedback.
“We look forward to working with them as well as with staff and wider community to ensure we continue to maintain Caithness General as a good place to learn as well as provide a service that meets the needs of local people.”
Dr Watson said the enhanced monitoring means any follow-up action has to be agreed with NES.
“This is particularly important as we bring in any new changes and move away from our heavy and unsustainable reliance on locums,” she said.
“We anticipate that the interim arrangements we will put in place for the coming months will satisfy any requirements from NES.”
Bob Silverwood, NHS Highland’s area manager for Caithness and Sutherland, said the work at Caithness General Hospital is part of a wide-ranging review of health and social care needs and provision which has been taking place over the past two years.
