08/03/06 - Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governorsheld on the 8 th March 2006Present:David Richardson – in the ChairGrace AldersonIan BeckDorothy ClampPhil CorriganBob DugdaleLee HallAstrid HansenMaggie HelliwellDeirdre NaylorSheila NolanJanette ReynoldsPeter SaleJenny ScottMiles ScottMaureen SharpeJohn SidebottomJohn SpeightKath TunstallRobert TooleDavid WalkerNora WhithamPartner Governor - The University of BradfordStaff Governor – Medical/DentalPartner Governor – Bradford MDCPartner Governor – Bradford South & West PCTSecretary to the TrustElected Governor – Bradford SouthElected Governor – ShipleyPartner Governor – Airedale PCTStaff Governor – AHPs/ScientistsStaff Governor – Nurses/MidwivesStaff Governor – Nurses/MidwivesElected Governor – ShipleyPartner Governor – Patient ForumChief ExecutiveElected Governor – Bradford SouthStaff Governor – Other StaffElected Governor – Out of AreaPartner Governor – Bradford MDCPartner Governor – Bradford City Training PCTElected Governor – Bradford NorthElected Governor – Bradford WestIn attendanceRichard Bell, Non-Executive DirectorSarah Goleby - PA to Bob DugdaleChris Jelly, Non-Executive DirectorAbsentShamim AkhtarMohammed Razaq BaigAnna FrazerShamsul KhanGhulam RabaniElected Governor - KeighleyElected Governor - Bradford NorthElected Governor - Bradford NorthElected Governor – Bradford NorthElected Governor – Keighley1. ApologiesApologies were received from: Con Egan, Mary Nelson, Matt Palmer, Chris Twelves, andJohn Waterhouse.2. IntroductionThe chairman invited Grace Alderson to give a brief tribute to Professor Terry Baker,Governor for Keighley, and reminded the Board that there would be a memorial service at12 noon on Friday 10 th March at St Marys Church, Ilkley.After academic appointments in the Anatomy Department at Birmingham University and inObstetrics & Gynaecology at Edinburgh, Terry came to Bradford in 1980 as Professor ofMedical Sciences and became Head of the Biomedical Sciences Department. He hadworked hard to develop courses in many other universities nationally and across the globe.In addition to recognition by British Universities he was recently awarded the honorarydegree of Doctor of Medical Sciences by Unversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His studentswere stimulated by his charismatic and enthusiastic lectures and he offered them a wealthof guidance, help and advise.

He had a strong commitment and sense of duty to the community and had, over the years,held many posts including being a member of Bradford Health Authority. He was verysupportive of the work of the hospital and proud to be a member of the Governing body. Hewould be remembered with affection and gratitude. He was a wonderful man with a keensense of humour and would be sadly missed.3. Minutes of the last meetingThe minutes of the meeting held on the 11 th January were accepted as a true record.Proposed: David WalkerSeconded: Peter Sale4. Matters ArisingNone5. Corporate StrategyThe final version of the Corporate Strategy had been circulated and it was confirmed thatprogress would be reviewed throughout the life of the document. It was suggested thatsection numbers on the executive summary should relate to those in the main bodydocument.6. Revised ConstitutionThe proposed changes to the Constitution were discussed. It was confirmed that thechanges in numbers to the Staff Governors had been with their full agreement. In line withguidance, the elected governors should be in the majority and therefore carefulconsideration had been given on how to achieve the reduction in Partner Governors andensure that organisations were fully represented in other forums, if not on the Board ofGovernors.It was proposed that the Standing Orders would be amended in line with the changes to theConstitution and both would be brought to the next meeting for acceptance with theConstitution prior to seeking approval from Monitor. It was pointed out that implementationwould not be until April 2007 when the term of office for the governors would be complete.7. Finance ReportIn presenting the Finance Report Miles Scott advised that the original financial plan hadbeen that the Trust would break even this year. However 2 historic items in the accounts,that were non-recurring, would lead to a deficit of £1m. In addition, staff in corporate areasof the Trust had been asked to submit applications for voluntary redundancy and voluntaryearly retirement. As a result of this, in the current year there would be a one off cost of £2massociated with this restructuring and therefore there would be a technical deficit of £3m.Monitor had agreed to the Trust running this level of deficit. Monitor’s financial rating forTrusts was between 1 and 5. BTH started with a rating of 2 and due to the strong cashposition anticipated this improving to 3. It was possible that media coverage would beadverse when the deficit was declared but it was stressed that it was a planned deficit andit was not because costs were out of control.In response to comments received, he apologised that the restructuring plans had not beendiscussed with the Board of Governors in advance but that the outcome should mean thatthere would be no need to consider compulsory redundancy. He also agreed that anyunderspend generated on staffing would not give rise to backfilling by expensive locums.Increased drug expenditure related to NICE guidance would be a cost pressure as fundingreceived was not likely to be in line with expenditure. However, where possible, the Trustwould reduce costs through the Performance Improvement Programme.

8. Performance ReportThe Chief Executive advised that ideas were being developed on how the performancereport was presented and there may be changes in the future.Performance indicators missed or at risk were highlighted:• Decontamination – the business case to take part in a West Yorkshire-wide unit wasclose to being signed off.• Cancer Wait Times – there were breaches in the 62 day target (95%) from urgentreferral to treatment. It was expected that this target would be reached by the end ofMarch and would be consistently met from then on.• MRSA Blood Stream Infections – significant amounts of work had gone in to the actionplans resulting in 3 months of reduced figures. Achieving the target would be one of theTrust’s top 10 objectives.10. Governor FeedbackVisit of Monitor – The Chairman thanked the Governors who had attended the meetingwhen Bill Moyes and his team visited. The opportunity for them to meet with the Govenrorshad been appreciated. A copy of the letter received from Monitor had been circulated. NoraWhitham advised that she had found it very useful to meet Bill Moyes and that Monitor weresupportive of the work taking place in Bradford. She had confirmed to them that theorganisation was now looking forward; working openly, and that communication hadimproved.Voluntary Services Forum, Peter Sale – Copies of the draft directory were circulated.Printing costs would be sought, but it was understood they would be approximately £2k,and the group would be looking for sponsorship. A sub-group would be convened to assistwith the preparation of the AGM and consider a stand for the Voluntary Services Forum.Appreciation was expressed for the guidance and help given by Chris Heaton.Finance Tutorial, Grace Alderson – The tutorial was presented in a relaxed and easy tounderstand way. 28 slides had covered the finance framework, baseline borrowing,financial plan, financial assumptions and risks. In addition income and expenditure werefully explained. The tutorial had been clear and precise and plenty of time had been allowedfor questions. The group left with a clear idea of the financial challenges and would like torecord their appreciation for the time and effort given on the day.Members Visits, Maureen Sharpe – The visit to A&E had been well attended with a mixedage range, including students who were covering the visit as part of their course work. Thedepartment was busy but calm with a good atmosphere. A presentation was given by theConsultant Physician, Tony Shenton, which included future planning proposals. The workon infection control, which was obviously given a high priority in the hospital, was fullyexplained by Matron Terry Wood. An abusive visitor was dealt with quickly and calmly andwas escorted off the premises. The visit was informative and interesting.In the past Public Governors only had been circulated with the details of visits as this was amembership initiative. However it was agreed that this would be extended to includePartner Governors.Search Committee, Deidre Naylor – Two meetings of the Search Committee had been heldin connection with the vacancy for a Non-Executive Director. The first was to decide on thequalities that would be required, which included significant commercial experience andpreferably expertise in marketing. 21 applications had been received. The second meetinghad taken place to draw up a shortlist of 3 candidates and interviews would take place onthe 24 th March.Meeting of FT Governors, Astrid Hansen and Lee Hall – 2 sub-groups had been formed.One would be looking at the structure and refining a shortlist of hosting companies(facilitators who would organise venues, arrange invites etc.). The other group would bereviewing how the group would be financed, either Trust fees or the possibility of grants. Areport was expected in the next few weeks.

10. Opportunities for InvolvementStandards for Better Health Review – A more detailed submission needed to be made inMay. It was therefore proposed that a group would be convened, to include 3 Governors,and that the next meeting of the Board of Governors would be brought forward to the 3 rdMay to allow the Board to approve the submission.Charitable Funds Board Sub-Committee – 2 representatives from the Governing body weresought to join the sub-committee, which existed to manage and commit the charitable fundsof BTH to generically or specifically support its work and the well-being of patients and staff.Review of the Role of Governors – It was suggested that the group who had reviewed theconstitution was re-convened to review the role of Governors but if anyone wished to jointhe group then they would be welcome.Planning of Annual General Meeting – This year the AGM would be a showcase of the workand success that takes place in the Trust. It was proposed that it would be interactive andGovernors would be involved in the planning and coordination.3G – Cradle to the Grave – The programme was to encourage young people and theirfamilies to become involved as members and it was launched as a school fair. The pilotscheme would run until July but there would be other schemes coming on line. It would bevaluable to have 2 Governors involved.The Chairman requested that anyone interested in any of the above contact Bob Dugdale.11. Documents for InformationThe following documents had been circulated for information• Core Brief• Chief Executive’s Report – January 200612. Any Other BusinessThe Chairman advised that there were plans to hold a Performance Management Seminar.Details would be circulated in the near future and Governors were encouraged to attend.14. Date of the Next MeetingWednesday 3 rd May at 4.30pm in the Recreation Hall, Field House, BRI