SMVN – the direction of travel

Dr Martin Connor Consultant Microbiologist

Clinical Lead SMVN

Context: some inconvenient truths

• Our current model of healthcare won’t meet the most optimistic forecasts of demography driven demand.

• Even if it could, we couldn’t afford it since costs are rising far faster than funding.

• Even if we could afford the model, there are no realistic workforce plans showing how we could staff it.

So any grand plans or strategies must be tested against...

• Will they be safe and of high quality?

• Will they meet demographic demand?

• Can we afford them?

• Will they offer the type of roles and careers that highly mobile and in-demand professionals will want to do?

Objectives

Develop a Microbiology and Virology workforce to meet the challenges of the future as described in Realising Realistic Medicine and the Healthcare Science National Delivery Plan.

Design a Microbiology laboratory service for the future of Scotland.

Develop standard processes for Microbiology and Virology staff across Scotland.

Optimise potential for a distributed services model as aligned with the guiding principles for service as defined by the Shared Services laboratory programme.

Regionalisation Agenda?

Develop a national Scottish Microbiology and Virology dataset:

National Labs DataMart

Top 20 tests

InterLab Comms

Objectives

• Contingency National Emergency / Outbreaks

– VHF, CBRN,

• Diagnostics and reporting MDR-organisms – CPO, VRE

• Shared / Distributed Services Model – Molecular diagnostics – Effective IT provision

• Nationally agreed Diagnostic Standards – Faecal pathogens, MTb, C

difficile.

Service User / Stakeholders

• Engagement is crucial to effective SMVN

• Linking with users – Meetings, Study Days,

Bulletins, Lab Visits

• Linking with stakeholders – SMVN representation at

SAPG, SHPN Groups, HPS, Scot Gov (20:20 vision, CMO, Healthcare science, Infection Control / Public Health)

• Horizon Scanning

Challenges

• Regionalisation vs Distributed Services – Guidance / Governance issues? – Role of SMVN? – Regionalisation vs “Once for

Scotland”

• Data / Bench Marking – NPEx – Post-Keele plans? RCPath Atlas of

Variation?

• Molecular Diagnostics – Increasing developments – Uncertainty regarding Regions /

Shared service – Business case process via DSG is

too slow?

Outlook

• Positive developments

• Defined challenges

• SMVN actively involved at National and Regional levels

• YOUR Network!!