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Breaking
News ...
12 July
2006
Trust reassures staff on
possible changes.
The trust moved today to respond
to staff fears over possible far-reaching changes to the way healthcare is
provided in Surrey and
Sussex
.
A review of hospital services
across the county by the strategic health authority has led to fears that
Worthing
Hospital
or St Richards at Chichester could close and that hospitals at Eastbourne,
Hastings
and Haywards Heath could lose some services. Only the
Royal
Sussex
County
is believed not to be at risk.
Although any changes are subject
to public consultation, opposition the possible closures is already growing led,
in some cases by MPs.
A statement to BSUH staff signed
by chair Glynn Jones and acting chief executive Alison Robertson, deputising for
Peter Coles who is on vacation, says: “We would like to reassure you that as a
board we are very aware of the tremendous work that is going on across the rust
and would like to reaffirm that the needs of the population we serve and also
your needs are central to any decision we make.”
They point out that the trust has
already made several changes around how services are run. They cite centralised
acute surgery and trauma at RSCH, the transfer of most elective surgery to PRH
and the closure of around 100 acute beds at Brighton General.
“However, as neighbouring NHS
organisations go through their own local version of Best Care,
Best Place
under the banner of Settings of Care, we are inevitably affected and as a board
we are currently considering how any proposals the PCTs across Surrey and
Sussex
put forward may affect us.
“What we are clear about at the
moment is that there is a range of emerging scenarios which are mainly informed
by economic models.
“There has been little clinical
engagement in this process so far, which we believe is essential and have
therefore been pressing for this to begin at the earliest opportunity.
10 July 2006
IV team boost. More
staff are being recruited to the trust’s IV Therapy Team as part of the
Turnaround Plan. The extra investment is aimed at increasing efficiency and to
help towards reducing hospital acquired infections.
Other
initiatives to reduce these infections are revealed in the newly published
infection control annual report. These include the appropriate use of catheters
and other devices as well as audits on surgical wounds.
The report also
shows that the trust’s rates of surgical site infections are generally better
than the national average.
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The Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton