Some points of interest from the Board Meeting at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage, on 27th January 2010
1. There is a lot of building work taking place at the Lister and the Chairman said following a letter from the adjacent Rugby Club, they had spent £33,500 on
a) Equipment to stop ice falling from the jib of a crane that occasionally swings over the ground and
b) A rabbit-proof fence. He commented that, as an ex-rugby player, it should be an advantage to have an A&E Unit next door.
2. A non-exec has been appointed Chairman of the Regulatory Policy Committee, which is to challenge the Government on proposed regulations. 4 members, including the CEO, have been appointed to a Government Committee on Leadership.
3. The Trust, in conjunction with the Prince’s Trust, is providing apprenticeships. The Secretary of State has requested a presentation.
4. The SHA is supporting the Trust’s application for Foundation status March/April 2010.
5. This is an item from “Our Changing Hospitals”:
“Cancer Satellite:
The PCT Steering Group is continuing to explore the viability of a satellite unit and is understood to be looking at affordability in greater detail; including seeking additional external advice on this aspect of the project. The Cancer Services Division is monitoring the progress of the Steering Group’s work.
The outcome of this next stage of the MVCC Development Review is not expected until Spring 2010 at the earliest and, if the project proceeds beyond this stage, the PCT will be required to formally consult on the location of a new cancer satellite unit before a final decision is taken on its location.”
6. Staff: Middle grade medical posts in A & E are difficult to fill, as are specialist posts – both are national problems. It was noted that Bank staff are expensive, but the HR director said this was often Trust staff doing additional shifts.
Agency spend varies from 9% Medicine to 1% Cancer Services
Bank spend varies from 10% Corporate Services to 1% Cancer Services
Sickness: From 3.7% Cancer Services to 6.43% Clinical Support Services
Cancer Services is the only Division meeting the target.
6. Performance: 1 x MRSA case in December, 5 x c-diff (50% reduction achieved 2008/9).
6 wards closed in QEII, Welwyn in December because of Norovirus.
Finance: Income reduced in December because of weather and sickness, but on target to achieve year end surplus of £2.5m.
Jean D
 |
Recent News
I take exception to the comments in this news story as being erroneous and have asked the Chairman Richard Beasley for a response on this on what would be inappropriate and inaccurate reporting.
Firstly and foremost we are quite proud of our long association with the staff of Lister Hospital and the associated charities who remain our beneficiaries; however, the arrogance of the Executive management leave a lot to be desired.
For your information we have made comments on what we believe to be inappropriate developments at the Lister site; offering suggestions in order to alleviate matters and ensure the smooth transistion of the hospitals development; we have not objected to the development per se but the manner in which it is developed.
Indeed despite being the closest neighbour to the Lister, at no point had we been consulted on any of the development and how it would affect our activities.
Part of our comments were accommodated by the planning authorities and were incorporated within the planning consent and were not offered or volunteered by the NHS Trust - as suggested in your report above, but are obligations imposed on the NHS Trust.
After planning approval we negotiated an "oversail license" with the Contractor to enable a crane to oversail our property - this is an undeniable right and without this it would amount to trespass. As part of this we insisted that the NHS Trust indemnify our property should there be falling debris and ice from the crane, which the NHS refused to do, which as a voluntary sports organisation we could not accept this risk and believed it unreasonable for the NHS Trust to take this as a risk imposed on our organisation.
The contractor therefore had no alternative but to employ different equipment, referred as a "luffer crane" in order to prevent oversailing; unfortunately, in installing this crane they oversailed our property without permission - which the contractor has since denied, even though there were several witnesses and photographic evidence. This will be subject to court action for compensation and trespass.
Quite frankly I am surprised at the reported glib comment that we should be thankful we've got an A&E department adjacent to our site as highly inappropriate, inflammatory and totally unprofessional.
I trust this is informative; however, if you require any further clarity on the above matters please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours faithfully
Steve Mudd
Chairman
Stevenage Town RFC