Latest news with #NHSAyrshire
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Ayrshire adolescent mental health facility to open in January
Foxgrove - the National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service - at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine is due to become fully operational in January. A new national adolescent mental health facility in Ayrshire is nearing completion. Work on Foxgrove - the National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service - at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine is set to conclude soon with a formal hand over to NHS Ayrshire and Arran due to take place in September. The facility, an inpatient unit for children aged 12 to 18 years who have complex difficulties and need a high level of care, is expected to be fully operational and start receiving patients from January. It will provide the first medium secure adolescent inpatient service for young people in Scotland. Following national investment, the purpose-built facility in Ayrshire means that children will be cared for nearer to home and will receive appropriate care, treatment, therapies, security and on-going education. Caroline Cameron, Director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: 'We are delighted to be nearing the end of the construction phase at Foxgrove and working towards improving outcomes for young people with complex mental health needs. 'This much needed national facility will be of huge benefit to children from around the country who are seriously unwell. 'Currently, these patients are referred to secure adolescent mental health facilities in England or in adult inpatient settings, placing significant additional pressure and stress on the young people, as well as their families. 'This modern, purpose-designed facility will ensure that Scottish adolescents with challenging mental health illnesses can access the health care, education, and support services they need, while remaining closer to their support network of family and friends. 'We have recently hired a number of teaching staff to join our highly skilled team at Foxgrove, with recruitment under way for a variety of additional roles. 'This offers an ideal opportunity to join the team during this exciting phase of the facility's development.' Mental Wellbeing Minister, Tom Arthur, said: 'I'm very pleased that work is progressing to open a new national facility to support young people with some of the most challenging mental health issues. 'Whilst we have made welcome progress in meeting the national standard on waiting times for children and young people accessing mental health services this year, I am determined to do more to ensure high-quality services are in place to offer care in the right place, at the right time. This new facility will be an important step towards helping us do this.'
Scotsman
13-07-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
NHS: Thousands of Scots going private for eye surgery as waiting lists soar to over three years
Thousands are forking out £2,500 for private cataract surgery. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Thousands of Scots are being forced to go private due to waits of more than three years for NHS cataract surgery. In 2024, around 8,500 people in Scotland went private for this treatment, which replaces a cloudy lens in the eye with an artificial lens, and costs approximately £2,500. This is double the number going private in 2019. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Around 19,000 Scots are currently stuck on an NHS waiting list for cataract surgery. Waiting lists for cataract surgery are soaring. New figures obtained by the Scottish Lib Dems also show one patient at NHS Grampian waited 1,253 days for this surgery - almost three and a half years. Other long waits included 869 days at NHS Shetland, 824 days at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 680 days at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, 644 days at NHS Borders, 548 days at NHS Fife, 532 days at NHS Lanarkshire, and 508 days at NHS Highland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The average expected waiting time at NHS Shetland for this surgery is 323 days, and in NHS Ayrshire and Arran it is 272 days - but one in 10 patients have been told to expect to wait 432 days. The longest waiting list is at NHS Ayrshire and Arran, where 3,207 patients have been referred and are now waiting for treatment. The second longest list is NHS Fife with 2,440 patients. Leader of the Scottish Lib Dems Alex Cole-Hamilton said: 'I can only imagine the panic and distress that these waits are causing for patients. 'I know that NHS staff are working hard to get waiting lists down but they are not getting the support they need from bosses and ministers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'With waits stretching into the months and years, it's clear that the SNP have no plan for tackling long waits for complex specialities. 'Ministers need to ensure that cataract surgery waits come down and people can get the care they need swiftly and close to home. Alex Cole-Hamilton speaking at Liberal Democrat conference 'I know from working closely with campaigners pressing for a replacement for the Edinburgh Eye Pavilion that staff can work more efficiently and effectively if they have the right facilities available. 'That's why it was so important to me to secure progress towards a new eye pavilion in our recent budget negotiations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The SNP have repeatedly demonstrated that the NHS will never be their priority. 'My party has a track record of exposing scandalous long waits and delivering investment. 'That's why no matter where you live, anyone who is sick of long waits for healthcare should back the Scottish Liberal Democrats on their peach regional ballot at next year's election.'
The Herald Scotland
28-04-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Nurse struck off after decade of 'near-fatal incompetence'
In a lengthy 205-page report, the NMC found that Cairns' judgement was impaired, that he had brought the nursing profession into disrepute and that striking off was necessary to maintain public confidence. The charges arose while he was employed as a nurse at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock by NHS Ayrshire and Arran. Crosshouse Hospital (Image: NQ) The virtual hearing, held earlier this year, was told that there had been concerns about Cairns' work since he began there in 2007, and these lasted until he was eventually suspended 13 years later. He was later placed on a 'formal capability programme' because of his lack of competence but showed no improvement. There were particular concerns about his administration of medication, patient care, record keeping, including fluid charts, and communications with colleagues. Following an incident in October 2020, Mr Cairns was suspended, and his contract was terminated in January 2021. The health board then referred the case to the NMC. One nurse colleague told the virtual hearing: "When Hugh started, we very quickly picked up on the fact that he had very little knowledge of what medications were, what they were for or why he was giving them out." Another added: "He would administer Digoxin (a heart drug) and then check a patient's pulse, which was the wrong way round. "The risk here was if a patient was given Digoxin and their pulse was already below a certain level then it would lower it even further, putting them at severe risk of harm.' READ MORE: Hundreds of Scottish pain patients die in agony in NHS queues Artificial intelligence could reshape the NHS — but only if Scotland gets it right Returning to a nightmare: chronic pain patients raise fears over future of support Another witness statement included in the report, referring to a separate incident in December 2020, said Cairns was stopped from administering a potentially lethal dose of antipsychotic medicine Haloperidol to a patient. The witness said: "He showed no understanding of the severity of this drug error. "We did a reflection on what had happened later in the day. I asked him what he thought would have happened if I had not stopped the drug administration. "He said he did not know. I stated it would have resulted in death, he showed no reaction to this.' More than a dozen other allegations were found not proven by the panel. The hearing was also told that Cairns failed to provide personal care to patients. One nurse said: "If a patient needed washing, Hugh would never do it. "Hugh would refuse to put women on bed pans, take them to commodes or take them to the bathroom." Another said: "Hugh's written handovers were really poor. I had numerous concerns raised from members of staff within the ward. He would miss really important aspects of a patient's care." The hearing further heard how Cairns took a Covid-19 swab from a patient during the pandemic in 2020 without donning protective goggles, a visor or an apron. Cairns, who did not attend or have legal representation, was also accused of inappropriate behaviour towards both female colleagues and patients. On one occasion, he was heard to say about a fellow nurse: "...as it wasn't raining, she wouldn't win a wet t-shirt competition." He then made a derogatory comment about a vulnerable patient, who had IRA tattoos, referring to him as "one of them" and "you lot". (Image: NQ) Cairns was also said to be "disinterested in improving his quality of work or retaining information being given." In its judgement, the Nursing and Midwifery Council said: "The panel was particularly concerned at the lack of competence in medication administration which, had he not been supervised closely, would have resulted in the death of a patient. "The panel was satisfied that Mr Cairns' performance was at an unacceptably low standard and demonstrated an extensive and severe lack of competence. "The panel considered that should Mr Cairns return to practice unrestricted he would be highly likely to make further similar and repeated errors and so place patients at risk of harm." The NMC then added: "Mr Cairns' misconduct had breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession, namely to act with honesty and without discrimination, and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute. "Mr Cairns has not displayed sufficient insight or remorse into his conduct. "Balancing all of these factors and after taking into account all the evidence before it during this case, the panel determined that the appropriate and proportionate sanction is that of a striking-off order. "This order was necessary to mark the importance of maintaining public confidence in the profession, and to send to the public and the profession a clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse." Jennifer Wilson (Image: NHS Ayrshire and Arran) Health board nurse director, Jennifer Wilson, said: "NHS Ayrshire and Arran is committed to delivering safe, high-quality patient care, and we have robust systems in place to ensure this is achieved. "Further to an internal investigation, the local management team made a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with regard to a member of nursing staff. "As a result this person, who no longer works for our organisation, has now been suspended from the NMC register."
