West Herts Hospital Trust better and better!

On 19th March, again it was all good news for the Board of this Trust.

The move of all acute services from Hemel Hempstead Hospital to Watford General Hospital was concluded without a hitch. This is a triumph as the move is acknowledged to be the biggest such project in today’s NHS. The Chief Executive, Jan Filochowski, had insisted that the original date be put back, to allow step by step transfer, and the outcome fully justified his caution, as all went well. Both staff and patients like the new Acute Admissions Unit (AAU) at Watford and the Urgent Care Centre at Hemel is thriving too, with over 350 patients per week.

Disclosures about Stafford Foundation Trust have made all hospitals edgy, but this Trust has below national average mortality rates in all departments, so it has no concerns of that kind.
Furthermore, it is meeting all those elusive NHS targets. Its infection control is first rate, well within target for MRSA cases and a national star for reduction of clostridium difficile cases. Performance on 18 weeks waiting list targets is above national targets. It continues to exceed all three national cancer targets. Bed pressures have eased slightly. Delayed transfers of care have reduced in number in recent weeks.

The Trust's Healthcare Commission Quality of Care rating is now balanced between “good” and “fair” depending on it achieving 98% for the A&E target over the whole year (it reached 100% on the previous day!). This target was not in doubt until the February snow storms caused unusual pressures and caused a temporary fall below target.

Add to all this that the Trust has a small financial surplus this year and expects to clear its historic debt next year. All good news.

But what about the patient experience? Are patients happy too? Survey results indicate that there is an improvement in patient satisfaction. So, what more can anyone want? I guess there are cracks somewhere and some patients fall down them – but the general picture is still amazing, unusual and good.

Joan