Head of Health Records, Agnes Provan, has finally closed her files and retired after almost 40 years in the health service.
Her career began as a clerical officer at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie and over the next 12 years she progressed to Outpatients Supervisor then A&E Supervisor, before becoming a trailblazer for electronic records with the introduction of Compas for which Agnes was a trainer.
In May 1996, she was promoted to Office Manager at the Beatson Oncology Centre and three years later was appointed as Medical Records Manager in Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary, managing both Falkirk and Stirling Royal. When primary care and acute health records merged in 2000, Agnes became Head of Health Records.
In 2008, Agnes spearheaded the move from Compas to Helix. This was also the year when planning began for the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital and Agnes was pivotal in developing the outline business case for the health records department. She also oversaw the huge task of the move and the complete redesign of the department with Falkirk and Stirling Community Hospitals retaining some health records services. Since then she has been involved in work connected to the Patients Rights Act and the migration from Helix and PMS to Topas.
Agnes is a Fellowship Member of the Institute of Health Records and Information Management (IHRIM), and has trained many IHRIM students over the years whilst always promoting Health Records as a Profession. She says she has a busy time ahead and is looking forward to travelling and keeping fit. She explained: “Since starting phased retirement, I set myself a target. I have invested in a fitbit, been out walking, lost 17lbs so far and I am planning to spend this New Year’s Eve at Sydney Harbour because it’s on my bucket list.”
