Warning to Good Hope Hospital over A&E waiting times

By jnewton

THE trust running Good Hope Hospital could have its board members removed if A&E waiting times are not improved.

Heart of England Foundation Trust (HEFT) received a final warning this week for a 'significant breach' of A&E waiting-time targets.

National guidelines demand that 98 per cent of A&E patients are seen within four hours of arrival.

Monitor, the independent regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts, says its 'formal powers of intervention' remain an option if HEFT fails to improve in the final financial quarter of 2009/10.

As of quarter three, Monitor has classed HEFT's governance risk as 'red', the highest risk category. In HEFT's case, it reflects that targets are missed continually.

At the end of the 08/09 period, HEFT missed the target by 0.37 per cent, with totals dragged down by performances around the 97 per cent mark in quarters three and four.

Having succeeded in the first two quarters of 09/10, it has seen a dip in quarter three – its third quarter-three drop in as many years.

HEFT runs Heartlands Hospital and Solihull Hospital in addition to Good Hope.

The former Good Hope Trust merged with HEFT, thereby achieving foundation status, in a bid to address an historic debt problem.

Monitor is now requesting that HEFT submits A&E performance data and action plan updates on a monthly basis, with breakdowns for each individual hospital.

HEFT says it is currently seeking external independent advice on A&E planning.

Monitor also wants to know the degree to which A&E wait times are being improved by reducing the length of stays on wards.

A HEFT patient spends, on average, just over eight days in hospital, compared to a national average of 5.7 days.

A Monitor spokesman said: "Monitor's board has found HEFT to be in significant breach of its terms of authorisation as a foundation trust, due to persistent non-achievement of the A&E waiting-time target.

"We will continue to review the trust's progress against planned actions to rectify the breach until such time as we are assured that the target is being delivered by the trust on a sustainable basis.

"Monitor's board did not consider use of our formal powers of intervention would be appropriate at this stage, however this remains subject to review.

"We have considerable powers to drive improvement at NHS foundation trusts.

"These range from requiring the board to undertake specific actions, to removing any, or all, of the directors or governors and appointing replacements, although as we have made clear, we are not currently considering intervening in HEFT."

Highlighting that a recent external review by the Department of Health had praised 'good consultant leadership' within A&E, a HEFTspokesman told the Observer: "Monitor, the regulator, has noted that the trust has failed the four-hour A&E target in quarter three for the third year running.

"The trust has recognised this difficult position and has agreed plans with Monitor to review systems to ensure improvements are made on each site.

"The Trust is one of the busiest in the NHS.

"It sees by far the most ambulance attendees than any other trust in the region.

"This has been the coldest winter reported in 30 years and has resulted in year-on-year emergency activity – where the patient spends at least one night in hospital – increasing by 17 per cent at Good Hope Hospital."