Significant improvements in clinical performance at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust over the past year have led to the Boards of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and the NHS Trust Development Authority (NHS TDA) taking the decision not to pursue the procurement process to identify a partner organisation.
Chief Executive, Kevin McGee, said: “Recent improvements have surpassed what we expected and this has led to us re-evaluating the process to secure a sustainable future for the Trust. There is still a great deal of work to be done and this approach will enable us to build on the improvements we have already made and to make sure that all of our focus goes into maintaining this good work and further enhancing the care patients receive at our hospital. It will also enable us to put all our energy into preparing for our upcoming CQC inspection; this is critically important as it is the CQC who ultimately decide whether the improvements we have made will enable us to exit special measures.
“The improvements delivered are testament to the efforts of all our staff who have worked tirelessly over the past year to deliver real benefits to patient care. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the right package of support is put in place and staff work together towards a common goal. We’re especially grateful for the independent support provided by the NHS TDA and UHB and we look forward to continuing to work with them to drive further improvements.”
The Trust has delivered a range of improvements to care quality and performance over the past year:
- The Trust is no longer considered a mortality outlier, with a current Standardised Hospital Mortality Indicator (SHMI) figure of 1.08.
- The Trust’s A&E department was one of the best performing in the country in December and January against the four hour treatment target.
- Improvements against a range of national standards, including waiting times, harm free care statistics, ward moves, and the number of pressure sores reported.
Commenting on the organisations that had expressed an interest in partnering with the George Eliot, Kevin added: “Although I recognise this will be disappointing for the three organisations that submitted solutions to partner with the George Eliot. I would like to thank them for their contributions to the process; the Board was impressed with the submissions, which were all of a high quality.”
David Flory, Chief Executive of the NHS Trust Development Authority said: “The Trust has shown real improvement since being placed in special measures and partnering with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Although there is clearly a great deal of work still to do, the TDA believes the Trust are best placed to do that by continuing the existing arrangements rather than pursuing a strategic partner organisation. ”
Looking to the Trust’s future, Kevin added: “We’ve achieved a lot over the past year but it is important we continue to focus on the future. At our Board Meeting on Wednesday the Trust’s Board of Directors approved a new quality strategy that aims to maintain the momentum created by the Keogh Review and ensure that continuous improvement to quality remains the central focus of the organisation so patients see real benefits.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: “The buddying relationship between George Eliot NHS Hospital Trust and UHB has so far led to improvements in quality of care for patients thanks to the commitment of a number of staff across a number of disciplines in both organisations.
It has, and will continue to be, a proactive, outcome-driven process that focuses on key areas of review, discussion, and implementation that will improve the operational performance and the care of patients at George Eliot.”
