Hospital bosses pledge to improve

Rebecca Lefort

IPSWICH Hospital has today pledged to transform its performance and offer patients a better experience.

At a board meeting last week the hospital's chairman, Mike Brookes, said he had been appalled by the trust's failure to treat 21 patients within six months.

Meanwhile the chief executive, Andrew Reed, said it was also unacceptable that too many operations were cancelled with late notice and that patients were moved around the hospital in the middle of the night.

In its 2009/2010 plan, discussed at the meeting, the hospital highlights these issues as top priorities.

The meeting came on the day The Evening Star published three stories of misery from patients at Ipswich Hospital.

Mr Brookes said: “I was extremely disappointed that we as an organisation had 21 patients who were kept waiting for their operation for 26 weeks or longer.

“That is an appalling situation, both for the 21 patients and for the lack of robust governance that did not allow the escalation process to spring into action.

“Andrew (Reed) and I had to go over to explain the situation to the strategic health authority. They were not impressed and I don't blame them because I was not impressed as chairman.”

Meanwhile Mr Reed said the next financial year was crucial for the hospital's future, and stressed it had given itself specific local targets, in addition to compulsory national targets, to deal with pressing issues.

He said: “Reducing non-clinical bed moved by 50 per cent is important. We do understand that moving people around the hospital in the wee small hours of the night is not good.

“We want to see cancelled operations reduced because all of that represents waste and a culture of cancellation.

“We need to see some big improvements in some of these areas.”

Have you received particularly good or bad care from Ipswich Hospital? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.