Agenda item

Update on Developments at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

(To receive a report from Caroline Walker (Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance, Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) which provides an update on three key areas of development at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  Caroline Walker (Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance) will be in attendance for this item)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Caroline Walker (Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance, Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) which provided an update on three key areas of development at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

 

Caroline Walker (Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance, Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) was in attendance for this item.

 

The Trust had installed its third MRI scanner in a purpose-built unit at Stamford and Rutland Hospital in early January 2017.  This was the third scanner for the Trust, two of which were at Peterborough City Hospital, but this was the first scanner at Stamford and Rutland Hospital.  The first full list of patients for the scanner was booked for Monday 6 February 2017 and the scanner had been in full use since.  The imaging team within the Trust was delivering this service Monday to Friday 7.30am to 8.00pm and would move a seven-day service in coming months. 

 

The Trust was also on track to complete the first phase of redevelopment work at the hospital, on 17 March 2017.  This would include the creation of a new phlebotomy, lymphoedema and chemotherapy suite, relocation of the pain management team to a new department and the relocation of Therapy Services to a newly upgraded department.

 

Stamford Hospital treated 116,680 patients in 2016 which was an increase of 6,000 from 2015.  It was expected, following the completion of the redevelopment programme in July 2017, that even more patients from Stamford and South Lincolnshire communities would be able to undergo treatment closer to home.

 

In relation to the merger with Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust, the Boards of both Trusts had agreed a Full Business Case to merge the two organisations in November 2016.  Since the agreement to combine the organisations into North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2017, a detailed implementation plan was being followed which included the following:-

·       Staff consultations;

·       Recruitment of Governors;

·       Focus on the readiness for 'day one'; and

·       Members Meetings.

 

In response to a national requirement to recover the costs of non-emergency hospital treatment from non-resident patients, introduced in 2013, the Trust had devised a process for recovering money for the NHS from the treatment of liable patients.  In May 2013, the Trust implemented a requirement for all patients to provide two proofs of identity prior to undergoing planned treatment in their hospitals.

 

All new appointments letters included clear instructions for patients to bring two forms of identification to prove that they were an ordinary UK resident and either their passport or birth certificate to the first appointment.  Visa details and any surcharge paid for free NHS treatment, if visiting the UK was also required.

 

Should a patient be unable to provide this identification who did not require urgent care they would be informed that any treatment received would be chargeable and the decision to proceed was then left with the patient.  Should the treatment be urgent, the Trust would provide immediate care but first inform the patient that this would be chargeable.  Clinical need would remain the decision of the treating clinician to ensure that patient care was not compromised.

 

Since the implementation of these standards, the number of attendances of non-UK residents had not been notably decreased, however non-eligible patients were identified more quickly and at a higher volume than previously.

 

On average each year, the Trust had recovered £350,000 income for the treatment of chargeable patients since the implementation of the policy.  The process had been reviewed by the Cabinet Office and it was understood that the Trust's system may be used as a basis for other Trusts to follow as an exemplar of good practice.

 

Members were invited to ask questions, during which the following points were noted:-

·       The Members Meetings scheduled on the merger of the two Trusts had resulted in 58 members of the public attending the meeting in Stamford and a further 90 members of the public registering their attendance for the meeting in Hinchingbrooke on 20 March 2017;

·       It was reported that the Funding Package had now been agreed and an emergency Board meeting held on Friday 10 March 2017 to agree future actions;

·       It was forecast that the savings in support services, as a result of the merger, would be £9m by year three.  There were no plans to make any savings to clinical services as it was suggested that this would happen as part of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Sustainability and Transformation Plan;

·       The challenge was to reduce the deficit year on year and a budget was set which challenged Trusts to make more and more efficiency savings each year;

·       Appointed Governors undergo an induction programme so that they can carry out their role efficiently.  Each Governor would be responsible for a particular area of the Trust and in depth training would be provided in addition to the general induction programme;

·       It was confirmed that the £350k collected from non-EU patients was the actual income;

·       The Trust would end the financial year with a £20m overspend.  £10m from the Treasury would assist with that deficit and it was hoped that this would reduce the year end deficit to a residual £15m;

·       The Medical Director for the Trust had been asked to assist clinicians across the country in how to broach the subject of proof of ID with patients.  Other Trusts had also arranged to visit Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to see how clinicians did this and to use that knowledge in their own hospitals;

·       It was clarified that international agreements covered the provision of emergency care and recovery of costs for planned or elective care for non-UK residents; and

·       It was expected that Phase 2 of the redevelopment would be complete in July 2017.  The Committee was invited to hold a meeting in Stamford which could incorporate a visit to the new site.

 

RESOLVED

1.    That the report and comments be noted; and

2.    That a future meeting of the Committee be held in Stamford following the completion of the redevelopment post July 2017.

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