MEDIA INFORMATION From Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust |
Iain McInnes, Interim Chief Executive of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust, has announced details of the turnaround plan that aims to bring the trust back to financial health and protect services for the future. Explaining the measures to staff in a series of packed meetings over the past two days, Iain has assured staff that every effort will be made to save money by improving efficiency, rather than cutting services. Said Mr McInnes, “Firstly, I want to reassure staff and public alike that there will be a hospital in Scarborough for the foreseeable future, with a 24 hour A&E department, and all the services that are required to support that. There will also be a hospital in Bridlington, providing an appropriate range of services. “There will be some changes to service delivery, but these reflect changes in how healthcare is evolving nationally and are a response to the need to provide the right care in the right place at the right time. We will of course be looking for savings, but the main driver is patient care. Broadly, the actions proposed fall into four categories: general ‘housekeeping' schemes, with immediate effect; pilot schemes which, if successful, will be fully adopted next year; schemes implemented jointly with North Yorkshire and York PCT and East Riding of Yorkshire PCT; and longer-term, significant changes that will require public consultation. Explained Iain, “It is part of the government's policy that the NHS delivers more care closer to the patient. This means, for example, not only clinics at local hospitals, but also care in the patients' homes or through their GPs. This results in better care for patients, but means we need fewer hospital beds. Over the next few years, right across the country, hospitals will be reducing numbers of beds, and we are no exception. However, in this case we can take advantage of the reduced need for beds by taking the opportunity to refurbish our nightingale wards. These old-fashioned wards make it impossible to provide the privacy and dignity that patients deserve, and make infection control difficult. Refurbishing such wards means a net loss of beds, as when we converted the old Duchess Ward into the current Stroke Unit, but will help provide a better environment for our patients. “We will also be working closely with the PCTs to ensure that everyone who is in hospital needs to be in hospital. At present, we have a significant number of patients, particularly elderly patients, who are admitted and then discharged a few days later having needed no treatment. In the meantime they have had a barrage of tests, and may have started to lose confidence about how and if they will cope when they go home. They become ‘de-skilled'. To address these unnecessary admissions, we will be trialling a system of ‘physician of the day' later this year. Thus everyone arriving at the hospital as an emergency medical admission will be seen, not by a junior doctor who may be inclined to err on the side of caution and admit, but by a Consultant Physician who will confidently be able to assess the patient's needs, including the possibility that they may be better cared for outside an acute hospital environment. This is an example of working ‘better', and using all the skills available to the benefit of patients. If this pilot scheme proves as successful here as it has elsewhere, we will then be able to reassess the number of beds that we need. “We still hope to avoid compulsory redundancies by careful vacancy management, and moving away from employing staff on temporary contracts. We are, however, reviewing staffing levels and structures throughout the Trust, including management structures, nursing structure, admin and clerical support, and medical staff. The focus is to use our highly valued staff – not only our most important but also our most expensive resource - to greatest effect. “Housekeeping measures such as stock control and careful procurement are already showing results. We are also making sure that we are being paid the right amounts for the services that we provide to other trusts, because this has not always been the case. “There will be some services that we'll have to look at closely, to determine if these are appropriate. In particular we will be consulting about the future use of Bridlington Hospital and asking the public for their input on how we can make most appropriate use of the facilities there; and we will look at maternity services across the area. These reviews are not expected to result in great savings, but are about getting the right service in the right place. We are hoping that these consultations will begin in December and run for three months, and will be talking to the local Overview and Scrutiny committees in more detail about this in the very near future.” “Most importantly, this turnaround process is not about cutting services: it is driven by the need to ensure local healthcare is safe, appropriate and sustainable. By working more effectively, and in close co-operation with our colleagues in the PCTs, the SHA, Social Services, the voluntary sector, etc, we can assure the future of local acute services, and of Scarborough and Bridlington Hospitals .” Ends Notes Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust is currently predicting an end of year overspend of £7.2m. It intends to get back into ‘in-year balance' by March 2008. - ENDS - For further information please contact Gilly Collinson , Communication Manager, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust Tel: 01723 342516 e-mail [email protected] |
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