Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 - Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital

6 1. Our Year
Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13
Chairman's Introduction
Welcome to our new Annual Report, Quality Report
and Accounts 2012/13.
I joined the Trust as Chairman at what
is a particularly interesting time for
the NHS – never before in its 65 year
history has it faced such significant
changes and challenges.
This year has been a period of
transition as we prepared for new
organisational structures, which,
among a raft of changes, included
placing the majority of commissioning
in the hands of GP Clinical
Commissioning Groups, from 1 April
2013. Innovations in technology and
treatment, an ageing population and
increasing expectations mean that the
NHS is being asked to deliver more than
ever before. At the same time the health
service has to save £20 billion by 2014
and much of this saving will be focused
on acute hospitals like the RD&E.
Whole-system
approach
Our population demographic in the
area we serve is older than the UK
average, so a higher percentage of our
patients are frail, older people, with
often complex health needs, who need
a longer than average hospital stay. This
places huge pressure on our capacity,
particularly over the winter months.
This year, as well as investing in two
new wards for frail older patients,
we worked with our partners across
the health community to take a
whole-system approach to meeting
the challenge of ensuring sufficient
capacity. We know that sometimes
people come to the Emergency
Department of their local hospital
when a pharmacist or GP could help
them. At the other end of the patient
journey, when people are well enough
to leave hospital, and where they may
need further rehabilitation in a care
home or additional support at home,
ensuring they are able to leave acute
care in a way that is appropriate and
safe is also challenging. Yet we know
that supporting patients in this way,
when they no longer need to be in an
acute hospital setting, is better for them
as well as more financially efficient.
By planning and responding jointly with
our colleagues in primary care, social
services and public health, we were
able to deliver much more integrated
healthcare and make better use of
our limited resources. This approach