TRUST UPDATE No. 36 4 OCTOBER 2006
The following media statement was released to the press today:
SCARBOROUGH & NE YORKSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST
Media Statement on Governance Review Report

Earlier this year, the Audit Commission produced its annual Governance Report on the Scarborough and North
East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust. As a result of its comments a review into the governance arrangements for the
Scarborough & NE Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust was undertaken at the request of the Scarborough and North
East Yorkshire Healthcare Trust Board.

The Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority and Scarborough & NE Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust
established an external review that was undertaken during the months of July and August 2006. Since early July
Mrs Alison Guy, Chief Executive and Mr Bernard Flynn, Director of Finance have remained off duty from the Trust.
The Governance Review Report was completed in early September; the Scarborough & NE Yorkshire Healthcare
NHS Trust Board considered and agreed an Action Plan in response to the Governance Review at their Board
meeting held on Tuesday 26 September 2006. The Action Plan now requires approval from the Yorkshire &
Humber Strategic Health Authority and the Audit Commission prior to the governance review and consequent
action plan being shared with staff and the public. We anticipate the Action Plan receiving the relevant approval at
the end of October at which point the Action Plan will be shared with the public following sharing with our staff.
With a joint review, publication needs the agreement of both commissioners. For our part, we believe that it would
have been irresponsible to agree to publish the Review until all our staff and all our partners had had the
opportunity to read it, study it and make comment on it. We very much regret that that opportunity has been missed
due to the leakage of the report.

It is clear from the report findings that governance arrangements within the Trust are not sufficiently robust.
However, the report recognises that much progress has been made in relation to the operational management and
performance of the Trust in recent years.

The action plan outlines the actions necessary; the time scale for taking action; the lead officer accountable and a
completion/review date to ensure full implementation of the recommendation.

We are very disappointed that the Governance Review has taken so long to be completed. We are also extremely
frustrated and unhappy that the Governance Review Report has been leaked in this way. Key members of our staff
deserve to be treated with dignity and respect; the Trust has been placed under considerable strain as a result of
not being able to share the report with staff and stakeholders prior to it being in the public domain.

Scarborough & NE Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust cannot and will not discuss the Review, nor the resultant
Action Plan, nor those who may be involved in it further, until our staff and partners have had the chance to
comment.
Statement ends