Agenda item

Pembury Hospital (Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust)

Angela Gallagher, Chief Operating Officer in attendance to answer questions about Pembury Hospital.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Jim Lusby, Acting Chief Executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Angela Gallagher, Chief Operating Officer to the meeting who gave a presentation overview of Tunbridge Wells Hospital with their recent successes and future challenges. Members were advised that over 5,000 staff were employed, providing specialist care to over 560,000 people living in Kent and East Sussex. Cancer services were mostly based at Maidstone Hospital. There were three main divisions of services: urgent care; planned care; and women, children and sexual health.

 

Members were advised that the performance for key standards included: quality and safety, activity, finance and workforce. Key performances in 2017 comprised of meeting the agreed 4 hours A&E wait time with increase attendances and emergency admissions. In regards to Cancer times, there had been continued improvement on the 2 week wait and 62-day standard. Other recent developments and achievements included an increase demand for elderly patients and the ‘frailty service’ provided at Maidstone. It was hoped that service would also be provided at Tunbridge Wells but space was an issue. The virtual fracture clinics had reduced the number of patients coming in for a check-up by 25%.

 

Listening into Action was a new programme to involve staff with improvements that were restricting staff such as faulty computers. Changes were being made to better empower staff so that they could have the power to make changes and make improvements. The response so far was positive.

 

Challenges and risks included, capacity and patient flow, increase in patient numbers, change in acuity and age profile, pressure on in-patient areas, staffing and finance.

 

In response to questions from the Chairman, Members were advised that as part of the hospital’s strategic objectives to be a caring organisation training courses were provided. Certain care levels were expected from staff and to gauge the level of care users were provided with patient experience forms and were regularly requested to be completed so that care could be improved.

 

Members asked questions into staffing levels and were advised that staffing was constantly being reviewed. Recently, there had been an increase of beds provided at the hospital and therefore an increase in staff. When recruitment took place, this had to have a creative approach to be an attractive employer. In regards to recent economy changes there had been some unsettlement among staff and more could be done to provide reassurances to staff. The current nurse vacancy rate was at 12 – 15%. It was normally expected that a 5 – 8% rate was tolerable. It was preferable to have own employed staff, rather than bank staff as it was more effective and efficient.

 

In responding to questions, the Acting Chief Executive advised that the lack of parking affected both patients and staff and the use of public transport was encouraged. Part of the problem was the increase in patients that was higher than expected 10 years ago. Parking had increased at Maidstone hospital.

 

A Member asked whether a proportion of A&E cases could seek help elsewhere. The Acting Chief Executive advised that in general terms it was not a huge issue and rather it was educating the public before they arrived and encouraged the use of NHS Choices to deal with minor ailments. 

 

The Acting Chief Executive was asked about waiting times with urgent referrals and he explained that it was dependent on the category of care, complexity and demand. If it was an urgent referral it was expected that care would be 6 and 8 weeks however this was less for cancer referrals.

 

In response to comments the Acting Chief Executive advised that a lot more could be done to eliminate the waste.

 

The Chairman thanked the Acting Chief Executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and The Chief Operating Officer for their attendance.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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