NHS Highland has been recognised by the Scottish Government for progress made in culture and leadership.
The health board has been de-escalated again on the NHS Scotland national performance framework following improvements in governance, leadership and culture.
Escalation measures were initially put in place in 2018 due to concerns about board governance and culture following reports of bullying.
This coupled with staff shortages, long waiting times and reports of inadequate staff training at some hospitals has caused many challenges.
However, progress made by the health board has led to de-escalation from stage four to stage three in 2021 and then from stage three to stage two this year.
Continuing to focus on developing culture and leadership
The move in stages means NHS Highland has moved from needing external support to having a local recovery plan in place. If necessary, advice and support will still be available centrally for the health board.
Professor Boyd Robertson, chairman of NHS Highland, paid tribute to everyone in the organisation for their efforts.
He said: “This is gratifying recognition of the commitment and endeavour that has gone into securing improvement in each of these areas so far, and reflects the fact that we have a clear roadmap to further progress.
“Every organisation should constantly strive to improve its culture, leadership and governance and we will continue to focus on developing these fundamentals.
“I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard during what has been an extremely challenging time for healthcare services.
“We could not have done this without the input from those who came forward as part of the Sturrock Review and the commitment from everyone in Highland and Argyll and Bute to deliver the changes we needed to make.”
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