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Hospitals' troubleshooter appointed

9:30am Thursday 9th February 2012 in News

A TROUBLESHOOTING chairman charged with turning round Morecambe Bay’s crisis-torn hospitals has been told: “Sack the top management if you have to.”

Sir David Henshaw, who has been parachuted in to rescue the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust, has been told by health watchdog Monitor that he has total authority to remove the trust board if they fail to deliver changes.

Monitor chief operating officer Stephen Hay said: “I’m not bothered about saving the face of directors, only in getting the trust back to where it should be.”

His comments come as a series of damning reports reveal failures in trust governance and leadership, shortcomings in risk man-agement, poor handling of patient appointments, continued risks at maternity units and insufficient staff in accident and emergency.

Monitor has also ordered trust directors to appoint a ‘turnaround’ director and chief operating officer to ensure improvements at hospitals including Westmorland General, Furness General, Barrow, and the Royal Lancaster infirmary.

Sir David Henshaw has already built an uncompromising reputation taking on major public sector challenges. A former chairman of NHS North West, he is chairman of Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool – a post he will retain.

Beleagured trust chief executive Tony Halsall welcomed what he saw as a strengthening of the management team.

He said three Monitor reports made ‘uncomfortable reading for the trust’ but it accepted the findings.

Mr Hay said: “We approached David Henshaw as a serious individual with a track record of taking on challenging situations.”

He said Sir David would have the power to sack management members.

“If he feels a change is needed then it can be made to happen.”

Exasperated South Lakes and Eden governor John Kaye welcomed the high profile director.

He said: “A lot of people are questioning the credibility and tenability of the current directors. We’re hoping the people brought in are better listeners because if they don’t listen I don’t know who can.”

Bill Wearing, chair of Cumbria County Council’s health and wellbeing committee, said: “We need this trust turned around. Directors haven’t had a grip on it and, personalities aside, it’s not been improving fast enough.”

Alan Price, secretary of South Lakes Health Action, said: “I’m not surprised they put in a high-profile chairman, but it is a very positive move. However, what I’m not clear about is how the roles of turnaround director and chief operating officer will be carried out while the chief executive is still in position. This needs explanation.”

* For more on this story see this week's The Westmorland Gazette.

Comments(26)

gadgetgadget says...
11:33am Thu 9 Feb 12

Finally some fresh faces... now don't pull any punches - do what needs to be done - sack people if required (especially if they should be accepting "buck stops with them"), start making people take responsibilities that their jobs require and get local health services back on track.

And whilst you're at it Monitor and CQC make sure services are put back where they are really needed.

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Skeptical says...
8:59pm Thu 9 Feb 12

To restore any kind of credibility in the Board, David Henshaws first job must be to hold those persons responsible for the appalling failures to account for their actions. This surely has to start with the immediate removal of Tony Halsall.

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gadgetgadget says...
9:02am Fri 10 Feb 12

Excellent editorial in the NW Evening Mail includes ....

"It is long overdue that there was a fresh perspective on what has been going wrong and, crucially, what needs to be put right.

The forthcoming appointments of a turnaround director and interim chief operating officer are also steps in the right direction.

The problem with Furness General Hospital for many is that once trust has been lost it is a long, hard, road to win that back.

And only by being open, admitting all its mistakes, and having a transparent plan to put them right, can those in charge expect to even start that journey."

Well said (although it's not just FGH ;) )... and is what many of us have been saying for a very long time.

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Skeptical says...
9:32am Fri 10 Feb 12

https://submissions.
epetitions.direct.go
v.uk/petitions/29317


If you support this, please sign the petition.

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WilliamT says...
10:13am Fri 10 Feb 12

In the interests of solidarity, I signed the petition. However, it's probably counter-productive because there will be a pathetically small number of signatures. The concerning bit in this article is "remove the trust board if they fail to deliver changes", which is a pretty feeble challenge to the feeble board- the new people come in, the board does what they're told, the guilty keep their jobs, all that happened is forgotten, the new people go.

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Skeptical says...
1:41pm Fri 10 Feb 12

Perhaps WilliamT - we shall see.

Recommend looking at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/iplayer/episode/p00
nd1j7/Ian_Timms_10_0
2_2012/

..and listening to the report 8.15am from Neil Smith.

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WilliamT says...
5:43pm Fri 10 Feb 12

Well done, Skep. I see you were suspicious of the shifty little blighter from the outset. The problem we have is that shifty little blighters are just who the DoH and Monitor want running FTs, as long as they do not 'transgress the unwritten law' (sorry, Monty Python reference only accessible to the aged) which is that you do not 'embarrass the minister or Monitor'. One of the major witnesses to the Mid_Staffs. Inquiry confirmed to me personally (in writing-I've never met him) that this is the major driving principle of NHS management and other people's testimonies corroborated this.
The SLB is still there despite lying to patients, relatives and even regulators, but he's never said anything about the DoH. He won't even comment on the DoH's own mortality indicator SHMI which pasted UHMB, but is happy to denigrate the Dr Foster HSMR, even though they are highly correlated and essentially equivalent.
He didn't only promise on the tape in Spring 2010 that the CQC had 'crawled all over' UHMB and that everything had been handed over to them, he said it again several times in the press from early 2010 to June 2011, around the inquest. By then, of course, he was saying that everything had always been shared with the regulators in the past. The point was that by then they had persuaded the CQC to clear the maternity services and allowed FT authorisation, 'light touch' Monitor scrutiny and all the disasters which have since been publicised. You really have to wonder who is looking after him!

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WilliamT says...
9:04pm Fri 10 Feb 12

Question for Skep- what does Radio Cumbria mean about a 'statement issued today by CQC expressing concern that the Fielding report was not shared with it'? I can't find a CQC statement today. Does he mean Monitor, does he mean an old CQC statement or have I missed something?

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Skeptical says...
9:50pm Fri 10 Feb 12

WilliamT, I imagine that this was a statement issued from CQC press office directly to radio cumbria and not published elsewhere. They are right to be concerned but must those families who lost babies after the Feilding report was published feel, knowing that the report was hidden from the regulators, PCT and Board and that the recommendations were not acted on with 'sufficient pace'. Foundation trust status at what cost?

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Chris Custodiet says...
12:13pm Sat 11 Feb 12

If the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust is so badly run, Stephen Hay needs to explain why Monitor granted it Foundation status in the first place?
25 Labour MPs apparently protested to Tony Blair when Sir David Henshaw was appointed Chair of the North West Strategic Health Authority. Where they all wrong?
Finally, since Foundation Trusts are supposed to be all about local accountability, what is the state of local accountability in the Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust?

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WilliamT says...
12:46pm Sat 11 Feb 12

Hay is protected from having to explain that- they leave that sort of thing to the Chairman. Monitor and CQC do indeed have a lot of explaining to do, because they said it would never happen again after all the Mid-Staffs. disaster and inquiries, and then it happened again pretty rapidly. They authorised UHMB despite warnings that the trust board was bent and were hiding adverse incidents, and it was very similar to Stafford, but 3 years later.

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RedRuss says...
9:31pm Sat 11 Feb 12

What use is Monitor? They granted Stafford Foundation Status just before faeces hit fan. They gave the same accolade to UHMBT only a few months ago. Why do they not take a proper look BEFORE handing out honours?

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Chris Custodiet says...
7:29am Sun 12 Feb 12

About as much use as a chocolate firescreen, Russ!
But what about our MPs? Will Tim Farron, for example, insist on getting some proper answers?
The Chair of NHS North Lancashire had to step down last year because his financial interests were not compatible with his position as Chair. They had only been incompatible for five and a half years!
Will Mr Farron ask how much was paid to the former Chair's private company by NHS Trusts in the North West during Sir David Henshaw's tenure as Chair of NHS North West and, in view of the coalition government's commitment to tranparency, will he ensure that the information is published?

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Skeptical says...
8:03am Sun 12 Feb 12

http://www.nwemail.c
o.uk/news/plea-for-h
ospital-boss-to-tend
er-his-resignation-1
.924250?referrerPath
=home

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Chris Custodiet says...
10:00am Sun 12 Feb 12

I agree with most of your comments William T but can I just pick up on those about the Lancaster Guardian made on a different thread. Tim Farron, Sir David Henshaw, Stephen Hay and the Lancaster Guardian (amongst many others) knew in March 2009 or earlier about the payments by NHS Trusts in the North West (including UHMBT) to the private company of the former Chair of NHS North Lancashire. The Lancaster Guardian published the story (or part of it at least) in December 2010. Sir David Henshaw was replaced by Sally Cheshire as SHA Chair in February 2011 and it was only after this that anything was done. The amounts involved are substantial.

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WilliamT says...
11:19am Sun 12 Feb 12

New information is certainly cropping up in this topic- first it was the HalsallGate Tapes, and now CC mentions dodgy finances at North Lancs. PCT. The problem is that we have become so used to the North Lancs/ South Cumbria NHS being bent that I hadn't picked up on this story. The chickens are now coming home to roost like nightmare test tube offspring of locust and Exocet missile. It has taken a long time for corruption to become accepted as normal, and it looks as if its going to take a long time to fix it at this 'let's get another report' pace. It was only in May 2011 that Halsall was lecturing at a Lancaster University Management School special event as "one of our region’s foremost leaders".
I noticed that Bingley was re-appointed as Chairman and then suddenly resigned, but assumed that we wouldn't be able to penetrate beyond the usual 'personal reasons'. You wonder how seriously PCT board meetings are taken when they reappoint someone prone to the sudden attacks of unconsciousness during the meeting, and which led to his death.
What did the 'new, improved' NHS NW Chair actually do about this during her short tenure before the SHA was wound up?

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Skeptical says...
11:36am Sun 12 Feb 12

WilliamT, I think the first test of Mr Henshaw will be how he responds to the 'Halsallgate' tapes, we must not allow the matter to be swept under the carpet and ignored. Such dishonestly is a perfect example of why trust has been eroded and I hope people will now demand action.

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Chris Custodiet says...
12:25pm Sun 12 Feb 12

Sally Cheshire ordered the PCT board to scrutinise Mr Bingley's interest in Bingley Consulting Ltd and to enter a formal record in the Board's public minutes. You will not find any record in the board's public minutes but, if you wanted to check it out, just ask the PCT for a copy of the minutes that have not been made public.

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Chris Custodiet says...
8:52pm Sun 12 Feb 12

I should have added William T that this thread is not about Bingley, it is about transparency, accountability and the good faith that the public are entitled to expect from those who hold public office whether elected or appointed.

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WilliamT says...
9:26pm Sun 12 Feb 12

It may not be about Bingley in particular, but North Lancs. PCT in general fully supported the UHMB foundation application, and connived at what was obviously a grave error by suppressing information and endorsing the UHMB dodgy dossier 'Quality Account'. Just as at Stafford, the financial manoeuvering led to some pretty irreversible health consequences for many people.
The PCT Board ought be under suspicion themselves, but Bigley escaped by extreme means, and most of the rest of the executives managed to tunnel into the PCT cluster, NHS Lancashire, where they are protected. The 'transparency and accountability' angle is that they must have help, because their performance would hardly merit such promotion- both of their acute trusts are in 'special measures'. NHS Lancashire is responsible for well over £1 billion

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WilliamT says...
9:31pm Sun 12 Feb 12

It may not be about Bingley in particular, but North Lancs. PCT in general fully supported the UHMB foundation application, and connived at what was obviously a grave error by suppressing information and endorsing the UHMB dodgy dossier 'Quality Account'. Just as at Stafford, the financial manoeuvering led to some pretty irreversible health consequences for many people.
The PCT Board ought be under suspicion themselves, but Bigley escaped by extreme means, and most of the rest of the executives managed to tunnel into the PCT cluster, NHS Lancashire, where they are protected. The 'transparency and accountability' angle is that they must have help, because their performance would hardly merit such promotion- both of their acute trusts are in 'special measures'. NHS Lancashire is responsible for well over £1 billion

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Chris Custodiet says...
8:57am Mon 13 Feb 12

My heart goes out to those families that have lost loves ones through neglect in the NHS and I am full of admiration for the fortitude and determination of those who, in drawing attention to their concerns, have attempted to prevent the same thing happening to others. They must have despaired at the practice of some local newspaper editors allowing their publications to be the regular mouthpiece of NHS 'good news' propaganda. I do not think that is any longer the case with the Lancaster Guardian but it still needs to do more.

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Skeptical says...
9:21pm Mon 13 Feb 12

http://epetitions.di
rect.gov.uk/petition
s/29317

More than 100 people have now signed (and counting) - for anyone who feels stongly - this is an opportunity to say 'enough is enough' and call for much needed change.

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Chris Custodiet says...
7:47am Tue 14 Feb 12

William T is well-informed but does he know that when Lancashire Care (which has paid more than £700,000 to Bingley Consulting) was granted Foundation status by Monitor it was paying front line staff in Lancaster less than the national minimum wage. Some of the staff assumed (wrongly) that the Trust was strapped for cash when the reality was that, at the same time, the Trust's directors were taking huge increases in pay and getting even bigger pension entitlements.

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WilliamT says...
8:51am Tue 14 Feb 12

No he didn't, because he doesn't know anything about the Mental Health trust, but all information is gratefully received! I do know that at the Mid Staffs Inquiry, personages such as a former Health Secretary bemoaned the tendency of new Foundation Trusts to start holding secret Board meetings (UHMB fixed it so that it was even very difficult to discover the existence of the meetings, never mind what happened during them) and to raise the pay of the Board to 'market rates'- this always means above average. The parallels with banking are obvious.

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Chris Custodiet says...
9:27am Tue 14 Feb 12

When elected, David Cameron talked a lot about 'the bright light of transparency' but these words are a cruel deception if not translated into action. It is time that MPs (of all parties) elected to serve our area started to shine a bright light into the darker corners of the NHS in the North West and put a stop once and for all to the secret arrangements that have allowed dubious practice or wrongful conduct to thrive.

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