Hospital Trust ‘has what it takes’ to turn things around after ‘special measures’ blow

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, alongside Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, is receiving intensive support from NHS England after the organisation that funds them, the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), has to make more than £530m in efficiency savings this financial year.

All four organisations have been placed into NHS Oversight Framework Segment 4, the highest level of intervention, and are now receiving targeted assistance through the National Recovery Support Programme (RSP) to address ongoing challenges in finance, performance, governance, and leadership.

Despite previous intervention, NHS England has deemed that insufficient progress has been made. Improvement directors have now been appointed to oversee a recovery plan, working closely with each organisation to identify key areas for improvement.

Mr Hodgson, who oversees Royal Blackburn and Burnley hospitals, said: "I won’t shy away from the fact that NOF4 is the lowest segment within the NHS framework and the Trust will now join a national Recovery Support Programme designed to make immediate improvements.

"This is, in the main, an ask around our financial position which I have referenced many times in recent weeks and months. The truth remains that, despite loads of hard work from everyone and additional external expertise, we continue to overspend.

"Let me give some assurances, equally, to colleagues, patients and their families and partners across our communities who will have concerns following this development.

"The first is that we’re not alone in facing huge financial pressures and neither do we expect to fix it on our own either. ELHT has already received a great deal of support and scrutiny from national and regional colleagues and we’re one of four NHS organisations in Lancashire and South Cumbria dropping into NOF4 and onto a recovery programme which will provide further help to reduce costs.

"The other organisations are our neighbours and colleagues at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals (LTH) and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals (BTH), as well as the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which commissions and funds services. It is a definite positive that we already work closely together and we will continue to share brain power, energy and good practice to make progress as a team.

"The second assurance I want to give is that in being downgraded there has been a clear acknowledgement that ELHT also continues to do good things, every day, too.

"This doesn’t negate the financial position, of course, but the Trust is committed to providing health care that really matters to local people and it’s positive that this is also recognised.

"I want to remind people that the Trust continues to perform well in many areas, including providing fabulous maternity services, developing community teams who are leading the way for others and, as I mentioned last week, theatre utilisation programmes which are the best in England."

MORE CUTS TO COME

Last month, residents were informed that the Trust planned to scrap the free daily bus service between Royal Blackburn, Burnley General, and Pendle Community Hospitals due to the unaffordable annual operating cost of £780,000.

Following public protests, a new operator – Moving People Bus and Coach Services – stepped in to continue running the service indefinitely from Tuesday, April 1st, as a commercial operation.

Mr. Hodgson warned that more difficult decisions lay ahead as the Trust battles to balance its books.

"It has impacted morale among our teams and colleagues are concerned that the quality of services and safety will be compromised by the level of cost reductions we have to make. But I want to impress on everyone that the Trust continues to be committed to safe, personal and effective care and the NHS as a whole always has these priorities at heart.

"It would be disingenuous of me not to suggest there is much more to come as we reduce our costs and balance our books. Feedback, suggestions and ideas will always be welcome.

"It is going to take sustained efforts of everyone equally, including colleagues, patients and partners, to make progress.

"But as I have said before, when it’s tough and the chips are down, there is nowhere I would rather be than ELHT, supported by the great people around me, who I believe have got what it takes to sort this in absolute spades."

* NHS England has reassured the public that this intervention will not affect access to local NHS services, and patients should continue to use healthcare as normal.