Chief Executive Report
Document Information
Date: September 2013 Status: Final Report Current Version:
Transparency level: Public
Author: David Bradley Chief Executive Owner: David Bradley Chief Executive Commissioned by:
Chief Executive Report
Board meeting 26
thSeptember 2013
1. Listening into Action
Having hosted the five Staff Conversations in May and June this year, I am pleased to be able to report that the Listening into Action team has made significant progress over the summer in working with colleagues from across the Trust to implement actions to address a variety of issues which staff told us get in the way of them being able to do their job. These have included:
adding an encryption facility to our emails to enable confidential information to be sent securely;
introducing webmail for all staff so that they can access their emails on any PC;
setting up an online clinical innovations forum;
providing video conferencing facilities at our main sites; establishing an ‘Employee of the Month’ scheme;
and many more ideas which staff have told us will help improve the quality of the services we provide.
The LiA Team continues to work with 11 teams (10 clinical and 1 corporate) to support them to adopt the LiA approach and to make the changes they want to the way they work. This approach will soon be extended to a further 20 teams across the Trust, as we embed LiA as ‘the way we do things’ in the organisation.
2. Care Quality Commission
In April 2013 following visits to Crocus, Avalon, Ruby, Bluebell and Ward 2, the CQC noted that further work was required to make sure that all staff were up to date with their mandatory training and that accurate records are kept to reflect this. A concern was also raised around staffing levels on Avalon ward. The CQC judged that these concerns had a minor impact on service users. Springfield Hospital was judged non-compliant with Outcome 13 (Staffing) and Outcome 14 (Supporting workers) and actions are already underway to address these concerns.
In July 2013, the CQC returned to Springfield to assess progress against these actions and also to complete a full review of compliance. The CQC visited
Crocus (older people), Avalon (eating disorder), Ruby (forensic-medium
secure), Hume (forensic - low secure), Phoenix (rehabilitation), Jupiter (acute adult admissions) and Burntwood Villas (step down). Overall the CQC reported positively about the Trust but noted some areas for improvement (e.g. inconsistency around how service user views are captured in care planning) which the Trust will address.
Comments from staff were positive about actions underway including the Chief Executive and other senior increased visibility on wards and the 'listening into action' initiative. Staff welcomed their presence so they could see and hear how things were
'on the ground'. One staff member told us "It's getting better with management reaching out to staff and patients now - a different way of working".
The CQC were happy with the improvements made and removed the two outstanding compliance actions around mandatory training and staffing on Avalon ward.
The Trust currently has no compliance actions with the CQC. The full report is set out in Appendix A.
3. Director of Nursing and Quality Standards
Andrew Dean has been appointed to the permanent position of Director of Nursing and Quality Standards, having covered the position as an interim since February this year.
The position was advertised externally and the Deputy Director of Nursing at the NHS Trust Development Authority (NTDA) was on the interview panel. Andrew has a wealth of experience in mental health services across a variety of trusts, including at board level.
This appointment now completes the Trust’s Board. .
4. Berwick Report
The independent NHS patient safety review report was published early in August. Professor Don Berwick, renowned international expert in patient safety, was asked by the Prime Minister to carry out the review following the publication of the Francis Report into the breakdown of care at Mid Staffordshire Hospitals.
The report makes recommendations for the NHS, its regulators and the government in building a robust nationwide system for patient safety rooted in a culture of
transparency, openness and continual learning with patients firmly at its heart. The report also includes three letters written by Professor Berwick to senior
management, senior government officials and senior executives in the NHS; clinicians, managers and all NHS staff and the people of England.
The main recommendations are that the health system must
recognise with clarity and courage the need for wide systemic change;
abandon blame as a tool and trust the goodwill and good intentions of the staff; reassert the primacy of working with patients and carers to achieve health care
goals;
use quantitative targets with caution - they should never displace the primary goal of better care;
recognise that transparency is essential and expect and insist on it;
ensure that responsibility for functions related to safety and improvement are established clearly and simply;
give NHS staff career-long help to learn, master and apply modern methods for quality control, quality improvement and quality planning; and
make sure pride and joy in work, not fear, infuse the NHS.
The Trust is working to ensure that it implements the recommendations as part of its organisational change programme.
5. Department of Health visit
During August Wandsworth CAMHs services were visited by Flora Goldhill, Director of Children, Families and Maternity and Health Equalities at the Department of Health. I attended the first part of the visit and later that week, Ms Goldhill contacted my office to thank the team who had hosted her and noted that she had gained enormous
benefit from the visit and was particularly struck by the compassion and commitment of the staff.
Ms Goldhill also raised the possibility of her spending more time at the Trust as part of the senior civil servants ‘connecting with the front line’ programme. This is currently being progressed.
6. Smoking Cessation
The Trust’s Smoking Cessation Service has been quoted as a good practice example in the NHS Confederation’s September Briefing and the Health Service Journal. The briefing focusses on smoking and mental health and challenges Boards to consider whether their organisations have structures in place for staff training, policy development, engaging and supporting service users, communication and service evaluation.
The Board will be pleased to note that since the introduction of the Smoking Cessation CQUINS in 2010, the Trust has been able to demonstrate that it has a robust and well-structured system in place to ensure the enforcement of the smoke free laws and the delivery of smoking cessation programmes including staff training and development of related policies.
The Trust now needs to move into a position where it can produce documentary evidence of the impact of our service in relation to addressing physical health and psychosocial factors around smoking and mental health. We believe this is our opportunity to evaluate and report our clinical evidence in a scientific manner and share our examples of good practice more widely.
7. Consultant Appointments
The following consultant appointment has been made since the last Board meeting: Dr Francesca Ducci – CMHT consultant Putney and Roehampton Team
In addition Dr Louise Guest has been appointed as the Director of Medical Education.
David Bradley Chief Executive September 2013
