Monitor steps in to secure health services for patients in King’s Lynn
24 Mar 2014 03:14 PM
The health sector
regulator will send in a team of experts to come up with a plan to secure the
future of services for patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn
NHS Foundation Trust.
A 'Contingency Planning
Team' will work with local commissioners to establish options for
sustainable patient services and make a clear recommendation to
Monitor.
The trust has been in breach of
its operating conditions since January 2012 and was placed into special
measures in October 2013. At the time, Monitor had concerns that it was
providing poor quality care and had weak leadership.
Since then, an interim Chair,
Chief Executive and Nursing Director have been appointed and progress has been
made in several areas, particularly in A&E. However, the trust is still
forecasting that it will make a £13 million deficit in
2013/14.
Monitor’s board has
decided to start the process of appointing a team of experts and a competitive
tender will be issued to choose who will carry out the work. The team is likely
to start work in July 2014 and will work alongside the trust management who
will remain responsible for the day-to-day running of the
hospital.
Mark Turner, Regional Director
at Monitor said:
"The Queen Elizabeth
Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust is suffering serious
financial problems. The people of King’s Lynn expect good quality care to
be provided and our team of experts will work closely with the trust management
and with local commissioners to ensure the services patients need are provided
in a sustainable way."
ENDS
Notes to
editors:
- Monitor’s board is
expected to take a final decision to appoint the team of experts at the end of
June.
- More information about special
measures can be found here
- For further information please
contact Emma Shepherd, Media Relations Manager on press.office@monitor.gov.uk (020
3747 0800)
- Monitor is the sector regulator
of NHS-funded health care services. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012
its main duty is to protect and promote the interests of people who use them.
Information about Monitor’s role can be found here.
- Follow Monitor on Twitter @MonitorUpdate