This week our Executive team have hosted a number of drop in sessions with our staff testing out how easy or not it is to raise concerns in our organisation. We have chosen this week as it is a year since the Francis Report which highlighted significant failings in care at Mid Staffordshire Hospital. We will be sharing with our staff the feedback from these sessions. Thank you to everyone who took the time to meet with us.
Michelle Turner our Director of HR and Organisational Development and I met with our neonatal staff on Wednesday as part of our regular listening events with staff. Liverpool Women's is so fortunate to have such talented and motivated people in it. We had a really interesting discussion about the future of neonatal services across Cheshire and Merseyside. I am sure many of you will remember 'Baby Hospital' which was televised last year which featured many of our incredible neonatal staff. Seeing the miracles they perform every day with such tiny babies really is inspirational. Thank you to all the staff who took the opportunity to chat with us.
This week we have had a telephone conference with Monitor the Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts. We have been transparent and open with them with regards to our long standing views on the impact of the maternity tariff (NHS payment system) and how we fully support the findings and recommendations of the recent Public Accounts Committee Report into Maternity Services in England. As the largest provider of Women’s services, Liverpool Women’s has been lobbying on this issue for some years and will continue to do so until there is a national and or local solution that resolves these issues. We are actively pursuing this with our local commissioners of service.
Earlier this week I was delighted to welcome back Hoi Yeung, one of our previous Non-Executive Directors. Hoi was on the Board of Directors when we were planning the £10 million investment into our maternity services. He was delighted with the new facilities. A big thank you to Clare Fitzpatrick one of our Matrons who helped with this visit.
Well Thursday afternoon was interesting, Bonnie Tyler gets lost in France, I get lost in Runcorn!!!! I really do need to learn to follow instruction from my sat nav, rather than thinking I know best. I am on the Board of the North West Coastal Academic Health Science Network. We were agreeing the priorities for the year ahead and allocating funding for some of the really exciting work streams that will hopefully support best practice and innovations in health services across the South Cumbria and Cheshire and Merseyside area.
Our Executive team this week reviewed plans to relocate our Gynaecology Emergency Room onto the ground floor. This will give our patients quicker access to our emergency service and will provide a much better environment for the privacy and dignity of patients using this service. We will then open up an admission and discharge area next to our Gynaecology ward which will help us with the management of our beds and provide better facilities for patients on admission and discharge from hospital. Once these facilities are completed work will begin on refurbishing our Midwifery Led Unit. I believe this demonstrates yet again our commitment to ensuring that wherever possible our environment is of the highest standards for our patients and our staff.
Last week saw us open our doors to local Y9 school children who are taking part in our after school Skills Club Programme. We are working in partnership with the Skills for Health North West Academy and for six weeks the young people will have the opportunity to come to Liverpool Women’s and meet different healthcare professionals. The aim of the sessions is to explore different NHS occupations, take part in practical interactive sessions, meet peers from other schools, develop confidence and team building. We are hoping to set up a blog directly from the young people taking part and will share this though our website and social media in the coming weeks.
Well I am on leave for a few days next week. Have a good weekend.