Developments at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Following the significant financial challenges Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been facing in 2009, the new Board of Directors has this week launched a Turnaround Plan to take the Trust forward.

In October 2009 Christopher Langley was appointed by the Healthcare Regulator, Monitor, as the new Chairman of the Trust. He joined Julie Burgess, the new Chief Executive Officer to help lead the Trust through this financial turnaround and improvement in patient services.

Mr Langley said: “Our Turnaround Plan will return the Trust to financial balance by addressing our underlying operational and financial problems. It will enable us to continue to deliver high quality clinical services for our local population.

“We have a clear vision for the Trust. Our hospitals and services will be more efficient with patients, safety and quality at the heart of everything we do. We will offer a range of district general hospital services with a strong emphasis on improving the patient experience, and we will be financially viable and provide value for money through a new patient-focused and clinically-led divisional structure.

“We have presented our Turnaround Plan to Monitor and have received approval to implement the proposals we have put forward. Monitor said that they believe this is a credible plan and congratulated the Trust on the detail contained in it. They have agreed that the plan accurately reflects the challenges the Trust faces now and in the coming years, and that the actions identified in the plan represent good, credible solutions to address them.

“We recognise that there is a lot of work that now needs to be done, and therefore we will be starting immediately to put the plan into action.”

The Trust’s problems stem from a legacy of three inherent issues.

The previous Trust Management Team traditionally administered processes rather than tackling problems unfolding within the organisation. The management and quality of information has been poor which has hampered decision making by the Board and across the organisation. There are also issues relating to the governance of the Trust which have led to the Trust expanding its range of services and facilities without sound financial backing.

The Turnaround Plan will address the issues with the result that our hospitals and services will be better run, better for patients and more efficient. The plan will return the Trust to financial surplus and ensure a bright future for Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Chief Executive Officer, Julie Burgess said: “Implementing these plans will not be easy but it must be done if we are to secure the future of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We have already been working on over 100 cost improvement programmes, and will deliver to the financial plan for this year. This means that we have reduced our deficit form £20 million to £9.9 million for 2009/2010. We will have some difficult decisions to make over the coming months but once they are made we will be able to focus on delivering high quality services for our patients.

“However, I have every confidence that the staff across the Trust, and our healthcare partners, whose support and engagement we will need to make these changes, have the commitment, professionalism and care to turn the organisation round to make it viable and to continue to deliver the best possible care for our patients.”