Agenda item

Sir Andrew Morris, Chief Executive of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, updated the Panel on the progress of the integration of the Trust following the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals.  Members were informed that good progress had been made on delivering the implementation plan, which can be summarised as follows:

• Governance arrangements – the Trust had a single Board of Directors with a dedicated operations director for each site.  The clinical and corporate governance structures built upon the successful approach adopted at Frimley Park, with modifications to ensure there was adequate focus on the different needs for improvement on each site.  The Panel were also assured that the Trust was committed to working with partners, including the Council on the wider health and social care system.

• Accident & Emergency – the Trust had narrowly missed the headline 4-hour Accident & Emergency (A&E) waiting time target during October-December at 94.6%, however, A&E departments had experienced significant additional demand since Christmas with performance falling to circa 90%.  A number of steps had been taken in response and whilst there were significant challenges, the Trust had not declared a major incident and was better placed than many hospitals elsewhere.

• Development – planning was well underway for the £25m investment in a new emergency department at Wexham Park and it was hoped that work would start on site early in 2016.  The Trust were also investing £10m on upgrading maternity facilities; £2m on new car parking spaces for both staff and visitors; and a further £6m on a new roof and addressing the general maintenance backlog.

• Staffing and recruitment – Managers were actively engaging staff at the Wexham Park and Heatherwood sites on the integration and improvement process.  Improving staff motivation was a key objective for the Trust as it was felt that happy staff delivered better care.  An active recruitment process had successfully recruited 3 more A&E consultants and work was underway to reduce agency staffing for nurses.  The Trust was seeking to recruit 50 new nurses from the Philippines as part of this process.

In summary, the Panel were informed that the Trust aimed to improve care and services for patients in the Borough through a clear vision and plan for transformation and that good progress had been made since the acquisition on 1^st October 2014.

Members asked a number of questions and discussed a range of issues which can be summarised as follows:

• A question was raised about how the Trust would address the issue of the ageing population.  The cost of hospital care was very high and the Trust recognised the need to work with partners such as the Council and Clinical Commissioning Group on integrated care where more people could be better supported in their own homes and the community.

• A Member asked for further information about the plans to address long-standing car parking problems at the Wexham Park site.  Sir Andrew responded that the Trust had approved £2m for 577 additional car parking spaces to be used for staff, patients and visitors.  Work was expected to begin in February, subject to planning permission being granted, and it was anticipated that this investment would significantly relieve parking pressures around the hospital site.

• The Panel asked about a number of staffing matters including morale and recruitment.  Sir Andrew stated that senior leaders had spent considerable time talking to staff at Wexham Park who had been very receptive to the positive vision for the future.  A programme to set out the values and behaviours expected by the Trust had been rolled out.

• In relation to recruitment, Members queried the need to recruit nurses from abroad and asked about the steps being taken to retain trainee nurses.  The Panel were informed that the recruitment of trained nurses from abroad was one part of a broader strategy to reduce the number of agency nurses and increase the stability of the nurse workforce, which was over 1,300.  The Trust was committed to retaining more nurses by offering jobs and career development opportunities.  The Trust had recruited nurses from the Philippines in the past and it had proved successful given the high quality of their training and the levels of commitment they had demonstrated.

• The Panel asked whether changes to commissioning arrangements would lead to improved services.  It was responded that the six CCGs that commission service from Frimley Health would work together to drive improvements whilst ensuring local focus on the quality of local services.  Sir Andrew gave a number of specific examples such as vascular services and chemotherapy where it was envisaged local people would see benefits from the new arrangements.

• Members asked how long the Trust felt it would take to make the necessary improvements to services.  Sir Andrew highlighted that mortality outcomes were already comparable between Wexham Park and Frimley hospitals, but that the transition plan would seek to improve the patient experience and increase the consultant delivered offer.

• The provision of home care and impacts of the Better Care Fund were discussed.  Sir Andrew acknowledged the significant challenges in moving patients from hospital into appropriate care environments.  The Trust worked with a number of local authorities and whilst it was noted that the position in Slough was better than in a number of other neighbouring areas, there was an opportunity to make further improvements and partnership working was key to achieve this objective.

The Chair thanked Sir Andrew for the update and welcomed the progress being made since the acquisition.

Resolved –  That the update be noted.

(Councillor Chohan left the meeting)