Agenda item

The Panel received an update from Dr Timothy Ho, Medical Director at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, one year on since Frimley Park’s acquisition of Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals and integration into the new Trust.

Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals Trust had faced significant financial, operational and clinical challenges at the time of the acquisition and the Panel were informed of the progress made in improving the quality of care and performance on the Wexham Park and Heatherwood sites.  The long term aim was to achieve the same high standards of quality, performance and financial efficiency across the combined Trust.

(Councillor Pantelic joined the meeting)

The update can be summarised as follows:

• The acquisition had brought a number of benefits including greater financial stability; the ability to attract and retain high quality staff; and improved clinical outcomes through a larger clinical team and improved access to services for patients.

• The executive team had focused on promoting culture change and management had successfully introduced a single vision and set of principles and values for staff on all three sites.

• Performance was improving and Frimley Health had met all key standards set by Monitor during the first quarter of 2015/16, including the four hour waiting time target for accident and emergency services.  Wexham Park Hospital had achieved this target for the first time in several years, underlining the progress that was being made.

• The Trust was seeking to bring a number of new and improved services to Wexham Park including an increased range of chemotherapy and on site radiology services; a new emergency department; renal services; and potentially ophthalmology.  Management were committed to delivering a ‘seven day NHS’.

• The Care Quality Commission (CQC) would be conducting an inspection of Wexham Park Hospital from 13^th October which would provide an opportunity to monitor and review some of the progress that had been made.  It was noted that the Panel would be contributing to the inspection.

The Panel welcomed the progress that had been made in stabilising and improving services at Wexham Park since the acquisition.  Members asked a number of questions including about the proposed improvements to car parking and the refurbishment of the site.  The Trust was progressing plans to significantly increase the number of car parking spaces but it wasn’t confirmed when they would be available.  A backlog of repairs and maintenance at the site was being addressed including re-roofing and waterproofing in addition to the wider plans to provide a new emergency department and refurbish the maternity unit.  A Member asked about the plans to bring standards of maternity care at Wexham Park up to those of the rest of the group, and it was responded that improvements to the fabric of the building and organisational culture, in addition to the recruitment and retention of midwives were important steps in improving services.  The template and best practice for high quality maternity services was being introduced at Wexham Park and the services had started to improve.

A Member commented that he had already noticed improvements in the emergency department and asked whether there were metrics to support the anecdotal evidence.  The key metric was that the four hour A&E waiting time, which Wexham Park Hospital had consistently failed to meet over the previous three years, was now improving.  New ways of working had been introduced which included mirroring the Frimley model by having specialist consultants available for A&E.  The target was not only being met but Wexham Park was performing very well against its comparators.

The Panel were impressed about the steps undertaken to improve the culture of the combined Trust, embed the core values and engage staff.  It was stated that staff had responded positively and flexibly to the changes and many staff suggestions had been taken forward in making improvements to processes.  Dr Ho was asked what training and support was in place to improve the retention rate of nurses and in response it was confirmed that management had given a high priority to retention with a majority of trainee nurses now staying with the Trust.  In respect of the care values, these were central to the recruitment and management culture.  It was recognised that staff retention was also crucial in minimising the use of agency staff, which remained a significant financial pressure and was a problem for the NHS nationally.

Members discussed a range of issues relating to existing and new services including specialist stroke and cancer services and bed capacity more generally.  In relation to strokes, it was noted that commissioners had decided that outcomes for patients would best be met at a dedicated facility currently provided at High Wycombe which brought together specialism and expertise.  There were plans to improve cancer provision at Wexham Park and introduce new chemotherapy and radiotherapy.  Bed capacity would always be an issue for the NHS more widely and the Trust was seeking to improve the ‘patient pathway’ to ensure people did not stay in hospital any longer than was necessary.  Members welcomed the new services proposed.  Dr Ho was asked whether he expected any services to be moved away from Wexham Park and he responded that he was not aware of any such plans.

The forthcoming CQC inspection was discussed and the Trust expected issues such as safe staffing, accommodation and diagnostics to be identified during the inspection.  The Council would be providing input to the inspection and it was agreed that the inspection report would be considered by the Panel as soon as it became available.  The Panel welcomed the progress that had been made over the past year and at the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked Dr Ho for his report.

Resolved –

(a)  That the update be noted.

(b)  That the Panel consider the findings of the forthcoming CQC inspection into Wexham Park Hospital at the earliest opportunity.