Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has come in for criticism after appearing to flip-flop on whether she would take part in public question and answer sessions at NHS board summits. Since 2004, every Health Secretary has personally chaired the annual review of each of Scotland’s NHS boards and held the sessions in public.
However, the Scottish Government recently issued updated guidance which stated that “Ministers will replace the public session in their review schedule with a visit to a nearby NHS facility/service and/or a meeting with staff”. The apparent break with convention was met with a barrage of criticism from opposition politicians and seems to have led to a rapid u-turn by the Health Secretary.
In response to a question in Parliament Jeane Freeman said “There will be public sessions, which will have a ministerial presence. There will be questions and ministers will be there to answer those, along with health boards who are the subject of annual reviews in order to hold them to account.”
In her short time as Health Secretary, Ms Freeman has been forced to extend the deadline for boards to meet legally binding patient waiting times until 2021 after it became clear they could not meet them on schedule. She was also forced to write off £150m in loans given to health boards, including NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle has criticised the Health Secretary for causing needless confusion and called for her to confirm that she would personally attend each board’s annual review and not send a junior minister.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“I’m pleased Jeane Freeman has seen the error of her ways so quickly, but there was no need for this issue to arise in the first place. The NHS is a public body and the Health Secretary is ultimately responsible for its activities. The public deserve the chance to hold the board and the Scottish Government to account for their decisions.
Audit Scotland have said the Scottish NHS is “not in a financially sustainable position”. NHS boards across the country are making big decisions about how to balance their books. It’s more vital than ever that the public’s view can be heard.
While I welcome the change of course, it’s worth noting the Health Secretary has only confirmed ‘a Minister’ will attend, not her personally. I hope Jeane Freeman will now issue updated guidance that confirms she will attend each NHS board’s review and take questions from the public.”
