The new National Treatment Centre Highland marks the start of a new era for NHS Highland
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The opening of the National Treatment Centre Highland signals not just a major push to reduce waiting lists but also the start of a major new chapter where staff are no longer treated poorly or bullied at the health board.
First Minister Humza Yousaf came north to Inverness to officially open the centre at Inverness Campus which is expected to deliver thousands more elective procedures each year, particularly for those waiting months and even years with chronic pain.
The state-of-the-art centre offers ophthalmology and orthopaedic service to surrounding communities in a purpose-built £48 million facility, which treated its first patient in April.
A place 'where kindness becomes the norm'
Mr Yousaf also praised the address by staff nurse Jayne Barnetson, who said: “For my entire career there has always been something missing. My clinical practice was never brought into question nor my professionalism but yet something wasn’t quite right.
“Here at the National Treatment Center I have found the answer to that question, which has eluded me for 25 years. Simply – it is a desire from everyone here to build a compassionate workplace where kindness becomes the norm and detrimental behaviours are not tolerated.
“Working within healthcare you would have expected that being kind would feel like quite a simple and uncomplicated thing to do but too often it is missing when working with colleagues. So, this is what I have learned since coming to the National Treatment Centre eight weeks ago – our leadership comes from a place where they value and trust the team around them.”
She added: “Your leadership allows me to bring my whole self to work.”
'One of the most powerful contributions I’ve heard'
Mr Yousaf praised what she said: “I thought it was one of the most powerful contributions and interventions I’ve heard from a member of the NHS. I used to be cabinet secretary for health, and this was so powerful for exactly the reasons that you mentioned.
“There’s no point hiding away from the fact that NHS Highland had problems with culture and with bullying, there was some very important work that was done with the Sturrock Review and that work undertaken by the former chair [Boyd Robertson], who I want to pay tribute to as well as the current chair and chief executive.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean things are absolutely perfect, obviously there are always improvements to be made but I think we heard from Jayne that she feels empowered and she feels that compassionate leadership is being shown.
“And to me that means the world because as impressive as the building is, and it is impressive, it is the people that are going to deliver the care.
“You can have the shiniest, brightest, new building in the world but if the staff are not providing that compassionate care it won’t make any difference to the patients.
“And what we’ve got here is a centre that is excellent in terms of bricks and mortar and the design but also staff who are feeling empowered with that compassionate leadership.”
1500 more orthopaedic procedures
NTC Highland was set up to tackle the huge waiting lists for several types of elective procedure and Ms Yousaf believes it will deliver not just for the Highlands but other nearby areas too.
“It's going to make a big difference," he said. "Our National Treatment Centre (NTC) Highland has the capacity to deliver an additional 1500, in fact over 1500, orthopaedic procedures, additional ophthalmology services as well.
“So, that will help not just in Highland. I believe patients from Grampian will come across to receive treatment here as well, so this is just one example of one of our national treatment centres.
“We have a number of others opening, we have phase two of Golden Jubilee still to open as well as Forth Valley to open to this year and all of these NTCs right across the country will help us to reduce those waiting lists that we know were exacerbated, due to the shock of the pandemic.”
