Agenda and supporting papers - Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Item 3
to deliver and articulated a firm commitment to continue to develop
specialist services and build on existing areas of excellence in cancer,
specialist surgery, major trauma, neonatal care and obstetrics.
Feedback from clinical commission groups and specialist
commissioners on the document’s tone, style and ambition had been
positive.
Ms James highlighted the requirement to sustain partnerships with
commissioners and
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local health providers, with the MDHU, with
Plymouth University and private sector partners, and to promote the
growth of clinical research through the Peninsula Academic Health
Science Network. The strategy set out how staff would be engaged in
its delivery and how, through strengthening clinical leadership and
demonstrating responsiveness to patients’ needs, service quality
would improve. In summary,
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Ms James highlighted the strategy’s
strong patient focus and the importance of being confident in our
ambitions - the local population deserved this. She commended the
strategy to the Board.
The Chairman invited discussion. The main points were:
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• Acknowledgement that the launch provided the opportunity for
the Board’s greater involvement in local partnership working
and in influencing key external clinicians. The Board must not
be the recipient of change but drive it. The commitment to
patients and to the health community was welcome and would
be an important
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factor in strategy implementation.
• Dr Williams sought to understand the position on local
community-based services. Ms James stated that locally the
pressures on hospitals were recognised, not only in terms of
the demand for urgent care but also in the increased acuity of
patients. There
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was a will to consider commissioning services
in other ways. The Trust could provide different models of care
and this was an opportunity to pursue and influence the
transformation agenda.
• The requirement to review the strategy in six months in terms
of the broader strategic goals and future service provision.
Specifications for National Specialist Commission had just
been released and the Senior Management Team would
consider this in the context of strategy refinement.
• Commander Spencer highlighted the onus on the Trust Board
to present a compelling narrative to staff and to engage them in
delivery. To aid this, the inclusion of a site plan to bring the
document to life was agreed. Ms James, Mr Teape and the
Director of Planning & Site Services would agree the process
and timescale to achieve this. Ms James stated that there may
be a requirement for external assistance and she would update
CE
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