PLUS A LOT MORE - The Princess Alexandra Hospital | NHS Trust

CEO’s Column
As we come to the end of another
year, I want to take this opportunity to
earnestly thank staff for their hard work
and commitment on behalf of both the Board and more
importantly the patients.
We have seen over a hundred staff awarded this year for their
length of service and the loyalty they have shown the Trust.
Others have been recognised for dedication to their jobs and
frequently going over and above what is expected of them is
their desire to look after patients.
I know that there is much more of this going on behind-thescenes
too and I wish to acknowledge everybody here for their
invaluable efforts in helping us get to where we are today.
As a Trust, we have faced several challenges but we have also
seen some real highlights during the year.
We saw an improvement in our Healthcare Commission (HCC)
ratings, scoring ‘Good’ for both our Quality of Services and Use
of Resources.
Our position on healthcare associated infection is much
stronger and we have made great strides on both 18 weeks
and 98%. These have been fantastic achievements for us and
play a key role in our bid to become a Foundation Trust.
However, as ever, further work is required.
Our Cost Improvement Plan (CIP) is an area that needs
strengthening further and an plan of action is well underway
to address this and the Executive Team is working closely with
Business Units to look at ways of improving efficiency.
Our recent Hospital Standardised Mortality Rate (HSMR) was
not quite as we expected. Investigation into this has discovered
that the incorrect coding of some patients’ conditions led to
some misinterpretation of the statistics recorded. Measures
such as spot audits of clinical deaths are now being conducted
to improve our figures and have been successful to date.
Operational targets will continue to test us over the coming
year but I hope that as we have now started to see a steady
improvement in all key areas, we can go onwards and upwards
from here.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a
Happy New year.
Chris Pocklington
Chief Executive
RECENT SUCCESS AND INNOVATIONS
AT THE TRUST
Our Pathology team is one of only
four trusts in the country to be chosen
to pilot new molecular techniques in
breast cancer surgery. The availability
of test results whilst the patient is in
theatre means the surgeons can be
more precise in the removal of tissue. Previously,
patients would have to return for more surgery if
further test results proved cancerous cells were still
present.
We are also one of only two trusts in
the East of England, to have become
a Rapid Improvement Site for the
High Volume Care Orthopaedics
Programme. Working with the
NHS Institute for Innovation and
Improvement, we have access to
dedicated support to help redesign the pathways in
the hip and knee replacement service.
In addition to this, Chris Cook, R&D Facilitator/IP
Scout, who led the recent Statement of Clinical Need
(SOCN) pilot project, has been selected to participate
in SOCN workshops and presentations and to be a
point of contact for other trusts getting involved in
the scheme.
Knowledge and Skills Framework Re-launch
Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) will be re-launched in
January 2009 with the full support of Alan Farmer, Director of
Workforce, and the Trust Board.
A new project team is now in place, managed in partnership
by Gemma Haynes, Training Advisor and Sylvia Hayes, Staff
Side Secretary.
Your department will be informed of how KSF will be fully
implemented in your area.
If you have a draft KSF outline yet to be finalised, please
ensure you have it available. If you do not have a KSF outline,
these are currently in the process of being developed.
If you have any queries throughout any part of the process,
the project team can be contacted via ksf@pah.nhs.uk or
please phone Gemma Haynes on extension 7613 or Sylvia
Hayes on extension 3275.
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