02.08.12
‘Improved care’ at Hinchingbrooke Hospital – Circle
Waiting times have been cut, care has been improved and savings have been made at Hinchingbrooke hospital over Circle’s first six months in charge, the company has said.
Circle, which is half-owned by its clinicians, took over the operation of the hospital in February this year. Prior to the takeover, ministers had referred to the hospital trust, which has amassed £40m of debt, as a “basket case”.
Upon taking over, Circle implemented a 16-point transformation plan. The company has touted improvements in services and significant savings as proof that the plan is working; they have been able to save £1.6m on paper procurement alone.
Circle says its success is based on putting those with the best experience of patient care in charge.
Ali Parsa, Circle’s chief executive, said: “You let the doctors and nurses and the healthcare professionals – who know the patient best and who know their services best – and let them take charge. And that’s what we’ve done. And by doing that and giving them the resource, and the talent they need, the management experience they need, they’ve bit by bit turned the hospital into what you’ve heard.”
Unison has raised concerns, saying that despite these improvements, staff morale is low and there are persistent worries over job losses.
Unison’s assistant general secretary, Karen Jennings said: “One of the ways that they’ve started to save money – and this was one of our fears – was that through newly negotiated contracts with the outsourced cleaning services, they have made cuts. And that means there will be cuts in cleaning staff – a vital and critical group of staff to making sure there’s no cross infection – that the hospital is clean.”
Circle has dismissed this criticism and said that their changes to the cleaning staff have prioritised sanitation and hygiene in clinical areas, where it matters most, and that money has been saved by reducing excess cleaning operations in office and residential sections of the hospital.
NHS officials for the Midlands and East of England have commended the progress made but emphasise that these improvements must be sustainable.
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