Foundation Times - Issue 40 Spring 2013

Lead headline: Council of Governors election results

The recent election for the Council of Governors of Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust saw the successful re-election of five governors and the welcoming of 11 new governors.

All new governors will be inducted in the coming weeks and we will feature their photos in the next issue of Foundation Times.

Foundation Times - Issue 39 Winter 2012

Lead headline: Guiding the Trust to greatness

It is election time again and this year we are looking for eleven public governors and five staff governors. Becoming a governor is your way of having a say in how Basildon and Orsett Hospitals are run. It gives you a real insight into the operational running of the Trust, with the chance to represent the public and put your views across.

Foundation Times - Issue 38 Autumn 2012

Lead headline: Forging ahead to ensure quality care

New Chief Executive, Clare Panniker has asserted her expectations regarding the Trust’s complete commitment to providing a quality service to patients. It comes after health regulator the Care Quality Commission announced that the Trust has made improvements and we are now compliant with the two areas of major concern following several unannounced inspections during the summer.

Foundation Times - Issue 37 Annual Review

Lead headline: A word from our chairman

"This is a time of great change in the provision of healthcare, and we are determined to ensure that the Trust plays a leading role. I see the hospital as an integral part of our community and not a collection of buildings on top of a hill, disconnected from the rest of Basildon, Billericay, Brentwood and Thurrock.

"I believe passionately that the provision of healthcare in both hospital and community setting needs to be seamless. I'm very excited that we have got funding until March 2013 for consultant geriatricians to work in the community with a team of nurses. This should enable more of our senior citizens to be treated in their own residence, whether their own home or nursing home and minimise unnecessary stays in hospital. I am hopeful that this will be a great success and become a permanent feature."

Foundation Times - Issue 36 Summer

Lead Headline: The Butterfly Appeal takes flight

We've launched the Butterfly Appeal to raise money to enhance care for our patients with dementia.

A national and local priority, one in five of our older inpatients has some type of dementia diagnosis, ranging from mild confusion to end stage dementia. We want to raise £31,000 to enhance the services we have for such patients, including day rooms on our three elderly care wards and hiring an activity coordinator to enhance memory recall.

Foundation Times - Issue 35 Spring

Lead Headline: Making it better for you

Governors fully support the hospital and its mission that patients are the focus of everything we do. We all want patients to have a positive experience, as well as receive the best possible care.

Two new programmes have been launched to help each patient's 'journey' through our hospitals.

Foundation Times - Issue 34 Winter

Lead Headline: Help make a difference – join our Board of Governors

One of the most important things about Foundation Trusts is their accountability. We were one of the first ten hospitals in the country to become a Foundation Trust and we take our responsibilities very seriously.

Foundation Times - Issue 33 Autumn

Lead Headline: The Fundamentals Of Care

 Diane Sarkar's first year as Director of Nursing culminated with a week-long series of nursing events and a summit, where our new five-year nursing strategy was launched by Ruth May, Chief Nurse, NHS Midlands and East. She was "overwhelmed" by improvements at the hospital and cited "superb nursing leadership and a great team on the wards."

Foundation Times - Issue 32 Annual Review

LEAD HEADLINE: CHAIRMANS INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our 2010 - 11 Annual Review. I joined the Trust as Interim Chairman on 1 April 2011, so it is interesting to look back at the Trust's activity across the year prior to my arrival.

This has not been an easy year within the NHS or for Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals and, while there is no doubt the Trust has made considerable progress, we do need to do better in several areas. We have done well in meeting our emergency response targets and improving safety, with our adjusted mortality rates among the lowest in the East of England, but major improvement is still required in our stroke services and other key areas if we are to measure ourselves against the best performers. 



The Foundation Times - Summer - Issue 31

LEAD HEADLINE: ORSETT HOSPITAL PASSES CQC INSPECTION

The Care Quality Commission (CQC)made a planned, but unannoounced, visit to Orsett Hospital in February. The inspection team found the hospital fully compliant with all 14 of their 'outcomes' for measuring healthcare providers. The inspectors spoke to staff and patients, examined records and patients notes.

Positive feedback from patients was that they were:

- confident that staff were knowledgeable about their care, which was of an acceptable standard

 - satisfied with the writtend and verbal information given to them, the waiting time for appointments and the helpfulness and pleasant manner of staff

 - complimentary about dignity, privacy, after-care treatment and hygien.

The Foundation Times - Spring - Issue 30

Lead Headline: Governors appoint new chairman

The board of governors has appointed Sir Peter Dixon, former Chairman of University College London Hospitals (UCLH) as Chairman of Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The appointment of the Trust Chairman (and its Non-Executive Directors) is the responsibility of the Board of Governors. They have asked Sir Peter to fulfil the role on an interim basis, while the search for a substantive appointment is made, when current Chairman, Michael Large leaves at the end of March.

The Foundation Times - Winter - Issue 29

Lead Headline: Become involved in running the Trust

Have you thought about becoming a Governor?
We are looking for nine public Governors, three from Basildon, three from Thurrock, one from Brentwood, and two from the rest of Essex. We also need three staff Governors for Basildon and one for Orsett. Our Governors play an important part in providing impartial and considered observations on the running of the Trust, while also acting as a voice of the views, concerns and aspirations of the community. They hold the Board of Directors to account for their actions and decisions, and select and appoint the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors. They are also a self-standing Board, providing a third dynamic between the Board of Directors and the regulatory bodies.

The Foundation Times - Autumn - Issue 28

Lead Headline: National recognition for hip fracture care

"Shared care" means that as well as being treated by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, patients are treated by a consultant geriatrician and a specialist hip fracture nurse. This has helped us reduce the mortality risk ratio from the national average of 8% to just under 5%, according to the world's largest national hip fracture audit, published in September by the Royal College of Surgeons.

The Foundation Times - Annual Report - Issue 27

Lead Headline: Building a Better Trust

"The past year has been a rollercoaster ride for the Trust. A year in which many service improvements in a number of departments were over-shadowed by the regulatory intervention taken in November by Monitor. Poor cleaning standards seen in the A&E department during an unannounced inspection visit, and a high hospital mortality ratio (a calculation of risk, not a count of deaths) were the two most significant factors, that led to Monitor declaring the Trust to be in breach of its licence to operate.

The Foundation Times - Summer - Issue 26

Lead Headline: Getting Better

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced it has removed two of the five conditions that it placed on the registration of Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in April.

The Foundation Times - Spring - Issue 25

Lead Headline: A gold-standard A&E for 2012

Foundation Times - Winter - Issue 24

Restoring confidence in our hospital

"It is understandable that patients and visitors are concerned at recent reports about Basildon University Hospital", said Michael Large, Chairman. "Everyone has the right to expect that if they or a loved one need to go to hospital, they will receive the best possible treatment and care in a clean, comfortable and safe environment. It is our responsibility to prove to you that you are safe in our care.