Transfer of Stromness OHAC staff to Kirkwall raised with health minister

Orkney Health and Care (OHAC) plans to relocate the community mental health team from the Stromness Town House to Kirkwall have been raised with Scotland’s health secretary, Shona Robison.

The transfer of staff will see Stromness lose around twenty jobs and was greeted with anger and disappointment in the town.

According to OHAC, an IT compatibility issue between NHS and local authority systems, along with unprecedented pressure on mental health services in the county, led to the move – which had been planned for the opening of the new Balfour Hospital, in around three year’s time – being brought forward.

At a special meeting of the Stromness Community Council last month, NHS Orkney chief executive Cathie Cowan acknowledged the economic argument for retaining jobs in Stromness, but said there was an overwhelming “clinical” argument for moving the community mental health team to Kirkwall.

According to Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, the proposal “appears to fly in the face of a joint commitment amongst partners to safeguard and indeed increase the number of posts based in Stromness.”

He has this week written to Shona Robison MSP, calling on the Scottish Government to help find a solution.

He said: “I understand that senior NHS Orkney and council mental health officials have pointed to the incompatibility of IT systems operated by the health service and local authorities as the principle reason for bringing forward this decision. The consequence, however, is that the Town House will now be vacated without any agreement having been reached on what posts will be relocated to meet earlier commitments.

“It is argued that delivery of clinical services in the Town House is not sustainable, which I can appreciate. The concern, however, is that without the IT incompatibility issues being resolved, it is difficult to see how any non-clinical, health service posts might be based in this location.

“The Scottish Government has been driving forward reforms to deliver more joint working and closer integration between health boards and local authorities. That makes sense, but it must be done in ways that don’t simply result in the centralisation of services.

“I have therefore called on the health secretary to help in finding a solution in this case, that allows health service posts to remain in Stromness.”