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Improving services for Scottish patients

This is a photograph of a map, with a magnifying glass highlighting Scotland. It is the header image for the Urostomy Association's page entitled 'Improving services for Scottish patients'

By Brian Fretwell, Urostomy Association Chairman

In last winter’s Journal, we reported on the five ‘calls to action’ put to the Scottish Parliament by Sir Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, on behalf of the estimated 20,000 ostomates living in Scotland. As someone who has had a temporary stoma (now reversed), Sir Edward draws on his own experience to advocate for people living with a stoma, working closely with the Scottish Stoma Forum (SSF), of which I am a member.

In early June, as part of my SSF role, I attended an online meeting to assess progress regarding the five calls to action, which are all about improving services for ostomates, regardless of whereabouts in Scotland they are based. Also at the meeting were two of my fellow SSF members – Louise Hoolighan, Stoma Nurse Specialist at NHS Golden Jubilee in Clydebank, and Kevin Hodges of the British Healthcare Trades Association – plus Sir Edward, Jenni Minto, Scottish Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, and Anne Armstrong, Scotland’s Deputy Chief Nursing Officer.

Five calls to action: progress so far

  1. To ensure patients have the choice of the most appropriate product or service to suit their needs. There was a suggestion that there should be some national roadshows for patients and that NHS Inform should be used to provide more information for patients.
  2. To facilitate and enable equitable patient access to specialist stoma care support, education and advice. Again, NHS Inform could be used to better educate patients so that they can make informed choices about their care. We also discussed the lack of specialist nurses and the issue of lower-band nurses carrying out stoma care, which links to point 4.
  3. To offer people with a stoma an annual review to ensure they have the best quality of life. It was agreed that a review should be offered to patients, while recognising that not everyone will want one. It was suggested that stoma patients should be made aware of how to contact a stoma nurse should they need to, and that nurses’ contact details could be included with patients’ equipment deliveries.
  4. To put in place educational modules to bring nurses into the profession, ensure robust succession plans are in place and to have adequate specialist nurses to support ostomates across Scotland. As yet, no progress to report.
  5. To ensure Health Boards collaborate through a national ‘once for Scotland’ approach and share best practice to deliver the highest quality service. It was noted that there is inconsistency in that not all Scottish patients have a local forum. It was suggested NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board could be a used as a reference board.

We are now awaiting the outcome of a recent national NHS meeting, chaired by Anne Armstrong, at which the five asks were discussed. We will continue to keep you updated via the Journal.