NHS Orkney has adopted “agile governance arrangements”, as the health authority prepares for a wave of coronavirus to hit the county over the next month.
The health authority’s interim chief executive Michael Dickson said the focus is now on protecting NHS Orkney‘s workforce and the county’s wider infrastructure.
At the meeting, he explained that the new arrangements are designed to “create capacity” within NHS Orkney to deal with future issues.
The “governance light” arrangements would see extra decision-making powers given to the chief executive.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Dickson said governance arrangements had slowly started to return to normal at the health board.
But with the situation worsening, it is now about “restarting things so we are as prepared as possible for what’s coming down the line”.
Earlier this week, Orcadians were urged to double down on their efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
This may feel like a step backward, in terms of the community’s recovery from the pandemic.
However, Mr Dickson said it’s neither a stop forward nor backward.
He said the arrangements will allow decisions to be made during another wave of coronavirus, while keeping the best interests of Orkney at heart.
Asked how the changes would affect Orcadians he said: “Right now, day-to-day, the person on the street won’t see anything different.
“They will still be able to see their healthcare practitioner, they will still be able to come to The Balfour and get visits from the community nursing team.
“This is about preparing for what is certain to be a rise in coronavirus cases. Today, we’re reporting 17 cases in Orkney. We have confirmed that we have the new variant in Orkney.
‘Should things play out as they have recently we will see changes’
“At the minute services will continue but my expectation is that, should things play out as they have recently and perhaps as they have in South Africa or Denmark, then we will see changes.
“They are not changes we want. We would be making these changes because the alternatives are far worse.
“It’s about sustaining services to the best of our ability but being pragmatic to the fact that we’re a small health board.”
So, if another wave of Covid is expected, when is NHS Orkney predicting the worst of it to be seen?
The health authority chief executive said: “Our current predictions are that the wave will hit Scotland in January. Right now our biggest concern is our workforce. Changes to the isolation rules mean that household contacts need to isolate for 10 days.
“And my concern isn’t just about the NHS it’s about how the county functions.
“The fact the virus is spreading quickly means we will have sizeable numbers of people – the 17 today plus the cases from yesterday – that will all need to isolate for 10 days.
‘We could lose key parts of our care service because they contract coronavirus’
“We’ve experienced a bit of a wave in Orkney but this is potentially far higher. That could impact on the running of the place.
“So, how do we make sure our care services continue? How do we make sure things like the ferries continue to run?
“Right now our concern is the workforce.
“We could lose key parts of the county’s care service because they contract coronavirus. There’s no way we can get around that.
“As we progress over the next couple of weeks, the potential of the consequences of this particular variant will become clear.”
