Annual Report 2006 - Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital

On targetThree stars five years runningAnnual Health CheckA surplus of £0.5mMRSA rates down by 33%In 2005/06 the RD&E retained its prestigiousthree-star rating for the fifth consecutive year,making it one of only a few trusts in the countryto have achieved this. In rating the performanceof trusts the Healthcare Commission looks at:• meeting key Governmentperformance targets;• effectiveness of clinicaltreatment;• the way the Trust is organised;• the views of the patients.In April 2005 the Healthcare Commissionintroduced a new system of measuringperformance, called the Annual Health Check,which takes over from star ratings and looks at amuch broader range of issues. As part of thisprocess the Trust has gone througha rigorous self-assessment,measuring progress against 44core standards. For 2005/06 theTrust has been able to declare that ithas met 42 of these 44 core standards. TheHealthcare Commission will now undertake itsown assessment, making use of national data, andthe judgements and expertise of others, as well asthe information provided by the Trust, and publishits first annual assessment of all NHS organisationsin October 2006.Having the financial freedom granted tofoundation trusts has given us theflexibility to plan servicedevelopments that otherwisewould have taken years to bringabout. Furthermore, againsta background of large-scale changethroughout the NHS, the RD&E has succeedednot only in tackling its deficit, whilst at the sametime maintaining or improving patient services,but also of achieving a surplus of £0.5m at yearend. This is rewarding testimony to our approachwhich ensures that no opportunityfor financial recovery or serviceimprovement is wasted.This year held great newsin relation to MRSA rates. TheHealthcare Commission recognised thatassessment should only be measured againstthe bacteraemia cases proved to have beenacquired at the RD&E (as opposed to all thoseacquired within the healthcare community as a wholebut tested at our laboratory). Thus in the past yearimprovements became easier to demonstrate. Weachieved a 33% reduction in the number of MRSAbacteraemia cases, putting us firmly on track to meetthe target set by the Healthcare Commission — greatnews for all the staff making such a huge effort toensure that infection is kept to a minimum.Once again, the RD&E has had a busy year withsignificant inpatient, outpatient and ED activity in2005/06. Despite the level of activity the continuedhard work of all members of staff meant wesucceeded in hitting our March 2006 year-end targetsfor inpatient, outpatient and Emergency Departmentwaiting times.Activity achievements for the year included:• 98% of patients coming to our EmergencyDepartment were admitted, discharged ortransferred within four hours;• no-one was waiting more than 13 weeks fora first outpatient appointment;• no-one was waiting more than nine monthsfor inpatient treatment;• all patients referred as urgent by theirGP with suspected cancer saw an RD&Especialist within two weeks;• the Trust met the target to provide atreatment decision for all new cancerpatients within 31 days, and achieved 94%,against a target of 95%, for treatment of allnew cancer patients within 62 days of urgentGP referral. In 2006/07 we will work closelywith PCTs and other hospitals, so that delaysin the patient pathway outside the Trust donot affect our target achievement;• all patients with breast cancer started theirtreatment within a month once the appropriatecourse of treatment was agreed;• more and more of our patients haveappointment dates and times that suit them.Activity 05/06Inpatients & daycase: 112,445Outpatients: 253,502Overall emergency admissions: 28,429Emergency attendances: 62,591Babies born: 2,972NOTE: Inpatient, daycase and outpatients data showsapparent reduction as work carried out in ‘communityhospitals’ is now counted for PCTs as providers.13