Agenda item

Attending from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) were:

John Burbeck, Interim Chairman

Chris Tidman, Interim Chief Executive

Rachel Duckett, Divisional Medical Director for Women and Children

Jan Stevens, Interim Chief Nursing Officer

Lisa Thomson, Director of Communications

Members had before them a print out of Frequently Asked Questions sourced from the WAHT website.

The Interim Chairman reminded the Committee that the hospital services review had been ongoing for around six years and given the uncertainty that surrounds the outcome, the potential need for change in services at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch had been previously reported.

Credit was given to Staff who had managed through uncertain times, however, WAHT was coming to the point where services were becoming fragile and in order to keep them safe, a temporary emergency centralisation of paediatric inpatient beds was necessary.  National experts had agreed with the decision.

The Interim Chief Executive explained that if services were felt to become unsafe, emergency plans could be implemented without consultation, like those related to Maternity services which were implemented in November 2015.

The decision was not taken lightly, with WAHT and the Clinical Commissioning Groups monitoring the situation for almost twelve months.  In addition, advice was sought from Birmingham Children's Hospital before publicising the changes, which would come into effect from September 2016.  This advance notice was felt necessary to inform the public through numerous means of communication.

It was stressed that the change would only affect a small number of patients, those children who needed an inpatient bed, which invariably tended to be for a night or two and children's outpatient appointments would not be affected.  In the event of a child needing to be transferred from A&E in Redditch, this would be to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital by ambulance as required.

The Interim Chief Executive also outlined the publicity schedule leading to the implementation in September 2016.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were raised:

·         The Interim Chief Executive clarified that the changes would only affect a small number of children, suggesting five to seven patients each day where a one night stay was normal

·         The Trust had no plans to make any further temporary emergency changes, however felt it was vital to conclude the Future of Acute Hospital Services in Worcestershire review without any further delay 

·         Members questioned the level of publicity and were informed that engagement had already been wide.  Local media had been supportive and numerous groups, such as schools, had been specifically targeted

·         Committee Members were asked to publicise the changes in their local area and through local networks

·         When asked what the impact had been on the changes in Maternity services, the Divisional Medical Director explained that it was seen as a positive move.  Staff morale was higher, patients were reassured and clinically it was the right decision

·         The Interim Chief Nursing Officer clarified that Worcestershire Royal Hospital had a dedicated Children's Ward with 34 beds.  Although it was busy, children tended not to be an inpatient for very long and occupancy was low.  There was no concern that there was not enough capacity

·         Members raised concern about public transportation between hospital sites and were informed that dialogue was ongoing with Worcestershire County Council.  In relation to patient transport by ambulance, parents would, if practical, be allowed travel with their child.  In addition, other concessions were being discussed, such as transport costs for low income families and car parking concessions for regular attenders

·         Staff affected by the centralisation recognised that it was the right decision and welcomed the opportunity to work more closely with colleagues on a larger number of patients.  The transition had already begun with Staff familiarising themselves with the way that Worcestershire Royal Hospital was organised

·         As physical space would be increased, there was the opportunity to enhance the environment for outpatient appointments and potentially increase the services offered

·         The Chairman of Healthwatch Worcestershire was asked for any comment and expressed the view that it was important to take advice from clinical experts.  He also expressed concern Healthwatch had received from residents and felt it was vital to ensure that communicating the changes was done well.  A patient participation representative added that communication included visiting schools to ensure wider publicity

·         The Committee welcomed the suggestion that the site in Kidderminster could be utilised further and looked forward to proposals in due course

The Chairman thanked those present for providing a useful update on the upcoming changes and encouraged Members to communicate the detail to their local residents and groups.