How a dynamic new chief executive turned around a ‘failing’ hospital trust and sent its position in performance tables to the very top of the league
While the vast majority of A&E departments creak under the strain, one unit has bucked the trend with a fresh approach to emergency care that is getting good results.luton and Dunstable University Hospital has undergone an about-turn in terms of its culture and administrative practice after Pauline Philip, the new chief executive, took on the challenge of hitting a target of 95 per cent of patients treated, assessed or discharged within four hours in A&E. Latest figures show the trust’s performance was 98.1 per cent in December, compared with a national average of 85.1 per cent. Dr David Kirby, a senior consultant in emergency care at the trust, told
The Telegraph last year: “In 2008, this trust was scraping the barrel of performance in the metric of the four-hour indicator.” He said the trust had invested in “refining processes”, like bed management, and opened an on-site doctors’ surgery. When a patient enters, they first see a nurse who assesses whether or not they need to be in hospital. If not, a receptionist books them into the surgery. The unit operates like a “well oiled machine” as staff balance the flow of patients with beds available. Mr Kirby said: “There is no escaping the fact that getting to where we are today has cost money. We get income on a case-by-case basis, so the more patients we see, the more income we have. Money has been used to refine our processes, create space and increase staff. In 10 years we’ve doubled our nursing staff and medical staff, and increased our consultant staff from three to 10. We also have a surge ward, which we open if we need it.”