Work Programme
With the publication of the QIS Standards for Sexual Health in March 2008, challenges were set for all NHS Boards around improving services and ensuring equitable access. The early work of the MCN was is principally about supporting the five West of Scotland boards in achieving the QIS standards and preparing for the upcoming reviews.
These reviews were completed in May 2011, and since then the focus has shifted to supporting Boards in the implementation of the recommendations of QIS (now renamed Healthcare Improvement Scotland), whether these are collective (regional) recommendations or individual to each NHS Board.
The work of the MCN is captured in the Action Plan. The most recent version runs to March 2013 and is available here.
The core MCN structure is based around the Co-ordinating Group which has senior representation from each of the five sexual health services. The work is principally driven by the 3 working (sub) groups of the Co-ordinating group with remits as follows:-
Clinical Guidelines: to agree and establish regional clinical protocols and guidelines for sexual health, ensuring a consistency of approach and best practice in all services.
Training and Education: Supporting continuous improvement in staff skills by looking at sharing training resources across the member boards and establishing regional competencies for key members of the sexual health team.
Audit and Clinical Information: Establishing a regional programme of audit to monitor performance against clinical standards, and gather the key information to establish progress in service improvement
The MCN office can be reached on 0141-211-8135 or e-mail georgelaird@nhs.net