Listen
Ayr and Monklands A&E services
25/07/2007
A senior health economist is to Chair the independent scrutiny panel which will consider revised proposals to keep A&E services at Ayr and Monklands Hospitals.
Dr Andrew Walker, a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, has been appointed by Health and Wellbeing Cabinet Secretary Nicola Sturgeon to head up the panel which will start work in September.
Ms Sturgeon also announced today the terms of reference for the panel, whose work will allow Ministers to consider the revised proposals by the turn of the year.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"I announced in June that I was reversing the decision taken by the previous administration to close the A&E departments at Ayr and Monklands. I asked that NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Ayrshire and Arran develop revised proposals to ensure that A&E services continue at their main hospital sites, and was clear that these would be subject to independent scrutiny.
"I considered it vital that the Chair of this important panel should be someone with extensive experience of the NHS; someone of standing within the health service; and someone who is demonstrably impartial and objective. In Dr Andrew Walker we have a Chair that perfectly fits the bill.
"The terms of reference make it clear how the Independent Scrutiny Panel will consider and report on the revised service options.
"I have already agreed with the Boards that their final proposals, having been scrutinised and evaluated by the independent panel, should be with me for a final decision by the turn of the year."
Dr Andrew Walker said:
"Local people and clinicians will rightly expect the revised proposals which come forward from the Boards to be robust, evidence-based, patient-centred, and consistent with clinical best practice and national policy.
"I am delighted to be asked to Chair the independent panel, which will have access to expert clinical and financial advice, and which will take account of the views of local people in scrutinising the Boards' revised proposals.
"The panel will assess the safety, sustainability, evidence-base and value for money of the revised proposals, and will carefully consider the views of local communities before reporting on our findings."
Different arrangements are being made in order to deliver on the Scottish government's commitment to embed independent scrutiny in future proposals for significant service change - it is intended to consult separately on these proposals shortly.
The work of the Ayr and Monklands panel is expected to begin in September and to run through until the turn of the year.
The panel will have three members besides the Chair - a clinical expert, a financial professional and an individual with expertise in the field of public engagement and consumer interests. These members will be announced shortly.
Dr Andrew Walker has been a Senior Lecturer in Health Economics at the Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, Glasgow University, for the past seven years. Previously, he was Head of Health Economics at Greater Glasgow Health Board.
His current work includes: advising the Scottish Medicines Consortium on the cost-effectiveness of new medicines; estimating the costs of hospital acquired infection for the July 2007 Health Protection Scotland report; and contributing to the forthcoming Audit Scotland report on planning to tackle long-term conditions (chronic diseases). He also comments on health policy issues for the national media. In the past he has advised the Health Committee of the Scottish Parliament on NHS spending plans.
His past work that is relevant to the Independent Scrutiny Panel includes:
- Undertaking an independent evaluation of NHS Argyll and Clyde's clinical strategy in 2004
- Contributing an economics commentary to the group compiling the Kerr Report, cited as one of the reasons for the changes to hospital services proposed by NHS Boards
- He worked for Greater Glasgow Health Board at the time of the changes to the Victoria Infirmary and Stobhill Hospital but he was not involved in this work
Task and Terms of Reference of the Panel
The task of the Panel is to bring to bear independent, expert, probing scrutiny on the revised service proposals from NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Ayrshire & Arran. The aim of this scrutiny is to provide assurance through commentary that the revised proposals are:
- Safe, sustainable, evidence-based and represent value for money
- Are robust, patient-centred and consistent with clinical best practice and national policy
- That they take account of local circumstances and the views of individuals and communities affected
- And that all viable service options have been considered
In order to carry out its task the Panel will need to:
- Take account of local circumstances and the views of individuals and communities affected by effectively engaging with local people, in liaison with the Scottish Health Council
- Provide a clear, comprehensive and accessible commentary on both sets of proposals to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, in a form also suitable for publication
- And to complete this work by the turn of the year