| July round up of NHS services |
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| Written by Joan Davis |
| Saturday, 01 August 2009 08:38 |
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The Hillingdon Hospital
The Hillingdon Hospital has a new Interim Chairman, Mike Robinson, who until last month was Chairman of Hillingdon Primary Care Trust (now known as NHS Hillingdon).
Hopes are still focused on Hillingdon Hospital Trust gaining foundation trust status, but this is now not expected before the New Year. Some former impediments have been resolved. There have been no MRSA bacteraemia cases since March, few cases of clostridium difficile cases, and the Trust is still both balancing its books financially and achieving high clinical standards.
In the past people with learning disabilities have had worse health and poorer health services than other people. The Learning Disability Action Group has now been set up to help these patients and their carers. It has launched new guidance on care pathways and developed a Patient Passport, so that information about the physical and psycho-social needs of these patients is readily available when they need health or social services.
In response to the Baby P scandal, the Trust now has an allocated hospital social worker to safeguard children, and a specially appointed Health Visitor. Staff training on safeguarding children is being improved.
Other snippets of news from the Trust are that £2 million is being spent on improving single sex accommodation – the money is coming from NHS London – and that the Mount Vernon outpatient block will be demolished next year.
NHS Hillingdon
Mike Whitlam is now Interim Chairman.
Compared with last year, attendances at Hillingdon Hospital’s A & E / Urgent Care Centre are up by 16%, which is worrying. A study is going on to find out why patients go to the UCC, rather than their GP. The UCC did reduce A&E attendances last year but it failed to reduce the total expenditure on emergency services. All GP referrals to consultants are processed by the Referral Management Centre, which processed 40,000 referrals last year, sending patients to a community or hospital service or back to their GP. Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services are being set up in the community to provide local rather than hospital services. The first CATS, in dermatology, offers quicker consultant appointments, including Saturdays – but other CATS have not yet launched. The RMC and CATS have not led to their expected financial savings.
This month, after much discussion and several caveats, the Board agreed the Full Business Case for a NW London Commissioning Partnership of eight PCTs. So, NHS Hillingdon is passing its commissioning function to the new body although it will retain legal responsibility and accountability for local NHS performance. The Partnership is backed by NHS London and is expected both to save up to 15% of present costs and to improve healthcare. The PCTs in this sector commission health services for 1.85m people and currently spend 7% more on acute care than other London PCTs. Both health and healthcare varies greatly across London and achievement of national targets varies too, so improvements are needed. All GP practices must agree their commissioning plans with their PCT. In Hillingdon GP practices work together - each practice is represented on a locality group and the three such groups are represented on the Confederation Management Board, which co-ordinates the Practice Based Commissioning Plan. Risk is shared across all practices. PBC is a powerful tool for making changes in the way services are provided and it is expected to provide more care in the community rather than in hospitals. In the last year, PBC did not develop Intermediate Care, End of Life Care, community based diagnostics or minor surgery, but these remain on its agenda. Joan
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| Last Updated on Monday, 03 August 2009 18:05 |
Recent News July round up of NHS services