p CEO report October 2024
1.0 National and system update
A national conversation to inform development of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS has been launched: Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future. We welcome the opportunity for colleagues, patients and the public to share their ideas and experiences; we also look forward to receiving further information to support us to hold local engagement activities here in Buckinghamshire to help capture insights from the communities we serve. Further information is available online and in Appendix 1.
1.2 NHS England has published a series of improvement guides to support local improvement programmes as part of their NHS IMPACT work. The first of these focus on flow of patients through the emergency care pathway, outpatient services, medical consultant job planning, and theatres, elective surgery and care before and after surgery. Further guides will also extend to care out of hospitals in the community.
1.3 Earlier this month, Duncan Dewhurst (Chief Digital & Transformation Officer) attended the HSJ Integrated Care Summit, speaking on a panel discussion about ‘Revolutionizing digital infrastructure and data sharing for seamless healthcare integration’. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn from others, share our digital journey, and some of the ways we are starting to use data to focus our resources in the most useful ways.
1.4 Congratulations to Bridget O’Kelly (Chief People Officer) who has been elected Co Chair of the NHS Providers HR Directors Network. Congratulations also to Nicola Gilham (Non-Executive Director) who has become a Trustee of NHS Charities Together. I am sure the Board will join me in commending Nicola’s expanding contribution and commitment to the health and care sector.
1.5 I am pleased to advise the Board that Buckinghamshire New University has elected Professor Damien Page as its next Vice Chancellor. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the University and working with Professor Page once Professor Nick Braisby’s tenure comes to an end in 2025.
1.6 Philippa Baker, Buckinghamshire Executive Place Director is moving to the Department of Health and Social Care on a secondment to support work on the NHS 10 Year Plan. Philippa has been instrumental in establishing strong local partnership programmes in health and care, and we wish her every success in her next endeavour.
2.0 Outstanding care
2.1 Key performance data are presented in the Integrated Performance Report with supporting narrative. In recent weeks we have seen an increase in the numbers of adult and paediatric patients requiring admission, and this has impacted how quickly we have been able to see patients requiring urgent care. A lot of hard work continues to go into reducing how long patients are waiting for planned treatment and at the end of September, there were 12 patients waiting more than 65 weeks.
2.2 Further to NHS England guidance received and referenced in this report last month, later in the Board meeting we will review the Trust Winter Plan, which sets out how we intend to maintain high quality patient care and experience through the next few months. I would particularly draw the public’s attention to some changes to the emergency department at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and the imminent opening of a new building to expand our capacity to provide emergency care for patients requiring a bed.
2.3 Congratulations to our maternity team who have been shortlisted in this year’s Royal College of Midwives awards in the category ‘Excellence in Midwifery for Education and Learning’ (sponsored by the Nursing Midwifery Council). As part of a Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley Patient Safety Collaborative, the team is working on a multiprofessional simulation-based education project in partnership with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire New University, Back to Life Ltd, and Sitcom Academy.
2.4 I am pleased to advise the Board that the Trust has now received confirmation from NHS England that our Electronic Patient Record business case has been approved, and I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank colleagues who have been working very hard to reach this important milestone.
2.5 Since the last report, I have been fortunate to spend time with some colleagues who are fundamental to the healthcare services we deliver at both our hospital and community sites, but whose hard work and contributions often go unseen: our property services, procurement and stores teams.
2.6 I was also able to spend a morning with our Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) team as part of the national IPC Week earlier this month. I witnessed some fantastic practice in the oversight of surgical site infections, and it was a timely reminder of the continued prevalence of the Covid-19 virus in our hospitals and communities.
3.0 Healthy communities
3.1 I was delighted to join representatives from the Cancer Care and Haematology Fund, who generously support our cancer services and who have funded a new Cancer Information and Wellbeing Service pod next to the Cancer Care and Haematology Unit on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital site. Please see here for more information about how the space will support patients, families and colleagues.
3.2 In Amersham Hospital, new CT and MRI scanners have been installed in a purpose built unit at the back of the site, funded by NHS England and Targeted Lung Health Check (an NHS screening programme designed to find lung cancer early, sometimes before a person has symptoms). Our Targeted Lung Health Check programme started in May 2024 and to date, 12,553 invitations have been sent; of these, 776 patients have had lung checks and 380 CT scans. This has led to seven cancers being detected and five suspected cancers being investigated. The new CT and MRI scanners also support the expanding development of Amersham Hospital as a key diagnostic centre for Buckinghamshire residents.
3.3 I was privileged to spend some time recently with colleagues in both our community- and hospital-based speech and language therapy teams, one of several of our services who deliver care and support to patients in these different settings.
3.4 This year’s vaccination programme is up and running across our Trust sites for colleagues and for eligible patients, and it was great to be able to support one of our vaccinators earlier this month to help colleagues in our Emergency Department find a few minutes to receive theirs. We were also pleased to receive a letter of thanks from colleagues in NHS England South East Region commending our successful rollout of the RSV vaccination programme mentioned in my last report; my thanks and commendations again to all colleagues involved.
4.0 Great place to work
4.1 The colleague story this month focuses on See ME First, an important initiative that we are launching as a Trust following recommendation from our EMBRACE Network. I am grateful for all individual Board members’ support for this important programme.
4.2 Over the last few weeks we have celebrated a number of national events including Allied Health Professionals Day and World Pharmacy Technicians Day. October is Black History Month; my thanks to the EMBRACE Network for arranging some wonderful Diwali celebrations. October is also Freedom to Speak Up Month, and we were honoured to be joined by National Guardian, Dr Jane Chidgey-Clark who generously gave her time to speak with leaders and managers across the organisation, talking about the theme of this year’s Speak Up Month, Listen Up.
4.3 At the end of September, we held a conference all about Appreciative Inquiry, a concept which focuses on strengths and positivity to drive collective learning, and which we are looking to build through our Board and leadership development programmes. This was a really inspiring event, and we were privileged to hear from a series of notable speakers, including Dr Chris Turner from Civility Saves Lives, and Janet Leighton, Director of Happiness at Timpson Group Ltd. Huge thanks to Amanda Mohabir and colleagues for organising the day, and to the speakers for their time and expertise.
4.4 Earlier this month, we celebrated outstanding colleagues from across the organisation at our Annual BHT Awards. My particular thanks to any members of the public who took the time to nominate colleagues, and to our partners at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio for once again supporting and broadcasting the event.
4.5 Finally, some congratulations to more exemplary colleagues: to Liz Anderson, Lead Nurse for Nutrition, who has received the Tracy Hill Patient Champion Award 2024 by national support group, Patients on Intravenous and Naso-gastric Nutrition Treatment; and to colleagues in finance for not one but two awards at the South East Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Awards in the team and individual rising star categories.
Appendices
- Appendix 1 – CARE value awards
- Appendix 2 – Executive Management Committee & Transformation Board