Tag: Circle

Hinchingbrooke Hospital franchise experiment – apportioning the blame

08:18 Wednesday 18th March 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: The taxpayers have been left exposed by the failure of the Hinchingbrooke Hospital franchise. That is the very damning conclusion of the group of MPs who sit on the Public Accounts Committee. Private company Circle handed back the franchise to run the hospital just three years into a ten year contract. Well the Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson is a member of the Public Accounts Committee. He joins us now from our studio there. Good morning Stewart.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Chris.
CHRIS MANN: Who’s fault is all this?
Continue reading “Hinchingbrooke Hospital franchise experiment – apportioning the blame”

Steve Sweeney – the future of Hinchingbrooke Hospital

08:10 Wednesday 4th March 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: The Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Hinchingbrooke Hospital says their priority is their patients, and they want to become a top rated Hospital. Deidre Fowler spoke at a meeting of Huntingdonshire District Council’s Overview and Scrutiny panel last night. Councillors and members of the public gathered to hear about the future of the Hospital . The private company who run it you’ll remember, Circle, are pulling out of their contract. Sarah Varey our reporter went to the meeting.
(TAPE)
SARAH VAREY: A committee meeting like any other in the Civic Suite at Pathfinder House, except the twenty or so seats in the public gallery were almost full of people hoping to find out just what the future holds for the Hospital .
PUBLIC ONE: I’ve got a copy of the Care Quality Commission report (342k pdf). I’m just interested to see what the Chief Executive is proposing for the future. But from where I sit, he shouldn’t be there to propose anything for the future, because they’ve already failed. I’m very interested in the future. I’m actually passionate about it.
SARAH VAREY: As a patient?
PUBLIC ONE: Both as a patient and as a member of the public. I’ve been one probably of their most frequent fliers over the last six years, both as an in-patient and an out-patient. And I think the wonderful staff there are being constantly let down by poor inefficient management.
SARAH VAREY: There was a growing air of anticipation as Item 4 on the agenda was reached, a presentation by Circle CEO Hisham Abdel-Rahman. It came in the form of a multi-coloured Powerpoint presentation, using pie-charts and graphs to represent the causes behind the Care Quality Commission’s highly critical report. A selection of pre-sub,itted questions from members of the public were then put to Dr Abdel-Rahman and three members of the executive board and the Trust board alongside him.. They covered mostly old ground. When did Circle realise the financial situation was deteriorating? What were the contributing factors? Questions from the Scrutiny Panel followed, with a heartfelt plea from one who’s a nurse at the Hospital , asking why no-one told the staff that all was far from well. There followed more coloured graphics headed ‘A realistic view of an improvement journey.’ and delivered by the Director of Nursing Midwifery and Quality, Deidre Fowler. She emphasised the number one priority, to put the patients first, and affirmed their ambition to become a top-rated Hospital , adding ‘we’re downtrodden but not beaten’. Amanda Buckenham from the We Love Hinhingbrooke Hospital group sais she’s looking on the bright side.
AMANDA BUCKENHAM: I take away from it the positive elements, the things that are going well, the fact that they’re not complacent. They do recognise that the improvements need to be made, whilst obviously not accepting as quite a lot of us don’t the overall judgment of the Hospital as being inadequate.
(LIVE)
DOTTY MCLEOD: Sarah varey reporting there from that meeting last night at Huntingdonshire District Council. Steve Sweeney was there. Steve is the GMB’s regional Organiser. Steve, this was an opportunity really for people in Huntingdon to talk to the Hospital bosses, to get some answers. Was it effective?
Continue reading “Steve Sweeney – the future of Hinchingbrooke Hospital”

NHS rescue call for Hinchingbrooke as Circle Health withdraw

17:09 Tuesday 10th February 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: The first privately managed NHS hospital in the country has just applied for a £9.6 million Government bailout. Last month you may remember the health care company Circle announced it was pulling out of a ten year contract to run the hospital, just hours before the release of a Care Quality Commission report, which found the facility to be inadequate. This afternoon the hospitals Board of Directors held its first public meeting since that damning report. In a moment or two I’ll be getting reaction from a union representative and also a consultant in health care, but first of all our reporter Heather Noble is with me. Heather’s got the background to the story first of all.
HEATHER NOBLE: Yes. On 9th January Circle said its franchise was no longer viable under the current terms, and that it would end the deal by 31st march. Under the terms of its contract Circle retained the right to end the franchise, if the amount of money it put into the Trust exceeded £5 million, a sum which the spokesman said had been reached. The same day the Hospital was placed in special measures, following a Care Quality Commission inspection. The health watchdog rated Hinchingbrooke as inadequate, highlighting particular concerns over Accident & Emergency and medical care.
CHRIS MANN: So the Board of Directors holding its first public meeting today. What happened?
HEATHER NOBLE: Well we heard that Hinchingbrooke on Circle’s departure will be left with a deficit for this financial year of between £7 million and £12 million. Circle said it’s saved the taxpayer £23 million. It’s made 5% savings each year as planned. But with high A&E admissions and reduced funding the Trust now needs further investment. It applied to the NHS Trust Development Authority for £9.6 million.
CHRIS MANN: And what was said about the staff today? Because of course they did come under fire didn’t they in the CQC report Heather, don’t you think? (technical hitch) OK we’ll get more on that a bit later on. That was Heather Noble with that report. Let’s now get reaction to that from two guests that we have for you now. Let’s bring in Jo Rust from the union Unison. hello Jo.
JO RUST: Good afternoon.
CHRIS MANN: And it’s Michelle Tempest, who’s a consultant at Candesic the health care consultancy. Hi Michelle.
MICHELLE TEMPEST: Hello. Pleasure to be on Chris.
CHRIS MANN: Jo first of all, obviously great concern amongst the staff there. Were they criticised today, do you know?
JO RUST: Sorry would you repeat that. You phased out.
CHRIS MANN: Were staff criticised today and in the report? Continue reading “NHS rescue call for Hinchingbrooke as Circle Health withdraw”

Catastrophic PFI Contracts Threaten Cambridgeshire Health Services

08:24 Thursday 7th February 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: MPs have delivered their verdict on what has been described as one of the worst reports ever seen within the NHS. “Catastrophic” was a word used to describe the Private Finance Initiative for Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust. The future of two of the county’s hospitals is inow in doubt, although we have heard this morning that Peterborough will not be closed. Stewart Jackson MP for Peterborough has that guarantee from the Health Minister. But regional health bosses and the Labour Government have been blamed for what went wrong here. Earlier, MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson, who called for the investigation by the Public Accounts Committee, had this to say. (TAPE)
STEWART JACKSON: I’ve had a personal guarantee from Secretary of State that Peterborough Hospital will not be closed. It’s not a situation where either of the hospitals are likely to be closed. But there will be some difficult decisions, reconfigurations, and some cuts in clinical services, to keep jobs and clinical care at the Hospital. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: He also went on to say he didn’t think either hospital would close. But he went on to blame other people for what was going on, including the last Labour Government, and said that Andy Burnham, the Health Minister at the time, needs to be called to account. Well we can speak to Ed Murphy. He was the Labour Parliamentary Candidate in Peterborough at the least election. So Labour have to shoulder some blame here Ed, for what they did, and particularly Andy Burnham. Continue reading “Catastrophic PFI Contracts Threaten Cambridgeshire Health Services”

The Disastrous Consequences of Private Sector Involvement in the NHS

08:38 Monday 10th December 2012
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: It’s a big day for the chief executives from two Cambridgeshire hospitals. They’re going to face questions from MPs at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee. The politicians will be focusing on the finances of Peterborough City and Hinchinbrooke Hospitals. Earlier we heard from Karen Webb, the Regional Director of the Royal College of Nursing. She says she feels sorry for staff and patients at Peterborough City Hospital, which has debts higher than nearly any other on the whole of the NHS. (TAPE)
KAREN WEBB: The issues are very worrying for the people of Cambridgeshire, because ultimately unless the Government makes some higher political decisions about bailing out all of these private finance initiatives around the country, unless Government takes that decision, the only way forward is going to be to lose staff and cut services, neither of which is in the interests of the people of Cambridgeshire. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well earlier this year Hinchinbrooke Hospital was taken over by a private company of course called Circle, an idea designed to get the hospital better managed and out of debt. Karen doesn’t think that’s working. Well we can speak to the Conservative MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson, who’s going to be on that Public Accounts Committee today. Morning Stewart.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: What are you trying to find out here? Why have you called these two guys in? Continue reading “The Disastrous Consequences of Private Sector Involvement in the NHS”

Government Damaging The NHS

10:17 Thursday 27th September 2012
Mid Morning Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

RONNIE BARBOUR: Looking for your experiences and thoughts about the NHS this morning, six months on from the Health and Social Care Bill, paving the way for the biggest changes since it was formed in 1948. Cambridgeshire has led the way in giving GPs and private companies a bigger role in our treatment. On line, Martin Booth works at Addenbrookes Hospital, and is a member of Unison. Martin welcome to the programme.
MARTIN BOOTH: Good morning.
RONNIE BARBOUR: Changes are inevitable in all walks of life, but this is quite a massive one. Is your union going to endorse it, embrace it? Continue reading “Government Damaging The NHS”