Top health posts to go

Susan Deacon wants fewer health board chairmen

Ten senior health posts are to be abolished in a radical shake-up of the NHS in Scotland.

Health Minister, Susan Deacon, is to announce the details of major changes soon.

The minister said she wanted to ensure that the "right people" were put in the right places to drive change forward.

The minister wants to "drive forward change"

Her proposals mean reducing the number of health board chairmen and trust chief executive posts.

While some posts are up for renewal, a number of officials are not due to step down, which makes the prospect of some sackings inevitable.

The minister said she wanted to recruit more women to the remaining positions and lower the average age of those in charge.

She also announced that an advertising campaign would be launched to attract a wider spectrum of people to jobs.

She told BBC Scotland: "What we do need to do is drive forward the pace and the process of change and that means having the right people in place.

"As I set out very explicitly when I addressed the NHS in Scotland conference last month, we need to work to ensure that we have a process of refreshment within our health boards and NHS trusts.

'Public appointments'

"What we need to do is bring in fresh blood, bring in fresh ideas and do that in a managed and a sensible way."

Details of which positions will go in the shake-up of Scotland's 43 health bodies have not yet been revealed.

Ms Deacon said she would be discussing her proposals with the present incumbents but added that ultimately the decision over who would remain lay with her.

She said: "We're talking about public appointments made by ministers.

"I am responsible for these appointments and I have an obligation to ensure that the people who are in these positions have the skills and the capability and the will drive forward the process of change now taking place within the health service."

Ms Deacon's announcement was condemned as "politically motivated sabre-rattling" by Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon, while the Scottish National Party's Kay Ullrich said the move was an admission that Labour was failing to manage the NHS.

Kay Ullrich: "Admission of failure"

She said: "At last we have an admission form the health minister that health care in Scotland has been deteriorating under her stewardship.

"The NHS has lurched from one crisis to the next over the last 12 months. In particular, the utter disgrace of treatment by postal code must be urgently addressed.

"It is a national scandal that the quality of health service in Scotland is determined by where people live."

The minister has already announced her intention to reform the NHS hierarchy

In May, she said she wanted to see NHS managers' pay rises linked to improvements in patient care.