Agenda item

PLYMOUTH HOSPITALS NHS TRUST PERFORMANCE REPORT (FOR THE PERIOD APRIL 2015)

The Panel to receive the Integrated Performance Report from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Kevin Baber, Chief Operating Officer and Lee Budge, Director of Corporate Business from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.  The Chair highlighted to the Panel that the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust Performance Report (for the period April 2015) has been in the public domain since May 2015 and was also presented at the Trust Board meeting on 29 May 2015.

 

A discussion took place around staff retention and it was reported that –

 

(a)

 

the hospital were on black alert over the winter period which put immense pressure on staff.  The hospital have undertaken measures to support staff by talking and listening to ideas to help improve the working environment;

 

(b)

 

there was a national shortage of nurses and to address this in Plymouth, the hospital have visited other counties and will shortly be sending a team to the Philippines as part of a recruitment campaign.  Immigration rules would affect recruitment of staff from overseas;

 

(c)

 

the hospital were at the forefront with regard to apprenticeships and were also undertaking a piece of work supporting people with learning disabilities to help them gain employment;

 

(d)

 

agency staff were used to backfill posts and if agency staff were not performing this would be managed.  It was not uncommon for specialist permanent staff to become agency staff because they can command a higher salary;

 

(e)

 

exit interviews were held when staff left and the main reasons for leaving were career progression, early retirement and lifestyle choices.  Information from exit interviews were reported to the Human Resources Committee;

 

(f)

 

the hospital were addressing the number of doctors providing healthcare for the elderly.  Over the years Plymouth had not invested in this area and have recognised this and made funding available.  It was reported that they were unable to recruit and were having discussion with the Royal College of Physicians.

 

In response to other questions raised, it was reported that –

 

(g)

 

 

historically there had been issues with waiting times.  It was highlighted that there were too many people on the waiting list and were looking to address this by treating people earlier in the pathway;

 

(h)

 

CT scanner provision was being addressed alongside recruitment, with some success.  Staff have also worked weekends to address the backlog but still not entirely resilient;

 

(i)

 

a large number of people were presenting at A & E in the early part of this financial year and with the  introduction of NHS 111 impacting on the front door of the hospital. This was put down to being a difficult winter and the ageing population;

 

(j)

 

the hospital were not at present collecting data on the number of people presenting at A & E because they were unable to see a GP.  It was reported that 15% of people that attend A & E don’t need to;

 

(k)

 

the major trauma centre has a specific budget but operationally from time to time would impact on targets because those patients had to be treated ;

 

(l)

 

vulnerable patients and patients with dementia were identifiable and the policy was not to move them between wards overnight, however there would be some occasions when patients are moved and this was regrettable;

 

(m)

 

the mortality rate was rising and the panel were advised that this indicator was best looked at over a period of time.  This has been raised as a concern and to understand what this means have looked at other hospitals and the Plymouth profile is replicated both locally and nationally.  They introduced 6 months ago a Mortality Review Group to look at all deaths and at present were reviewing 80% of deaths to ascertain whether the death could have been prevented.

 

Agreed that -

 

1.            to continue to monitor mortality rates, diagnostic services and referral to treatment times to provide assurance to the panel that progress is being made against these key indicators and that recovery plans are improving performance;

 

2.            that a report on the new immigration rules for lower-earning non-EU workers to be provided to the panel as soon as impact on the trust is assessed;

 

3.                 that a joint performance review involving commissioners and lead providers from Health and Social Care should take place at the next meeting. Decisions on format and key performance indicators delegated to the lead officer in consultation with Chair and Vice Chair.

Supporting documents: