One Message from the chief executive January 2011

Committed to change and improvement

Dear colleague,

The months between December and March
are typically the busiest for the NHS and,
so far, this winter period has proved no
exception. Seasonal `flu and Norovirus
have combined with the severe weather
conditions to put the NHS across the
country under intense pressure.
I am proud of the way in which our staff
have risen to the challenges of winter
sickness, bed shortages, severe snowfall
and high levels of emergency activity.
The likelihood is that these pressures will
continue for the next few weeks and it
is important that we remain resolute. I
thank you for your continued support and
commitment.
The pressures currently being felt by the
NHS are not just as a result of the winter
weather. The government has set out its
plans to reform the NHS in the Health and
Social Care Bill which was published on 19th
January. GPs in England will be given more
responsibility for spending the NHS budget
while hospitals are to be set free from
central control with an independent board
overseeing services.
we have fallen behind schedule against our
CRPs and our collective focus must be on
the final two months of this financial year.
For the trust our New Year’s resolution for
2011 must be: Deliver our CRPs, become
a FT and provide improved facilities for
patients . I appreciate that there are still
some staff who question the value of FT
status but the fact is that by 2013 all NHS
trusts in England must become FTs.
If St George’s Healthcare does not become
a FT then our ability to remain in control
of our own affairs will be in doubt. Such a
scenario will have a significant impact on
the range of specialist services we provide
to patients and could result in the trust
being taken over by an existing FT.
The planning for the 2011/12 CRP’s is
well underway and will be overseen by a
monitoring group which I will chair. Eight
workstreams will be lead by directors who
are accountable to the trust board for the
effective delivery of these projects. Each of
the workstreams is made up of many costs
reduction projects.

These reforms are some of the most Workstream Lead(Director)

radical in the history of the NHS and,
1. Managing clinical Mike Bailey, medical
have provided fuel for lively debate and variance director
comment.
2. Community inte- Di Caulfield-Stoker,
gration divisional chair of
Our values For St George’s Healthcare our aim of community services
becoming a foundation trust (FT) is Wandsworth
absolutely crucial in terms of securing our 3. Corporate services Peter Jenkinson, trust
long-term future. Attached to November secretary
pay slips was a letter outlining the progress
4. Partnerships and Trudi Kemp, director
made during 2010 and our plans to recruit Alliances of strategy
staff as FT members during February 2011.
5. iClip Patrick Mitchell, chief
If you missed the letter it can still be viewed operating officer
via the intranet.
6. Procurement Neal Deans, director
of estates and facili-
Managing cost, driving quality ties
Becoming a FT means meeting our cost
7. Directorates Patrick Mitchell, chief
reduction programme (CRP) for 2010/11 operating officer
while continuing to drive up quality. FT
8. Workforce Annette Gately,
status will also be crucial as we look to fund interim director of hu-
our building programme. As things stand man resources
 Part of the work to address the financial
challenges faced by the trust will involve
changes to established ways of working.
Flexibility will be key and I would like to
express my thanks to staff from theatres,
radiography and portering who have all
recently signed-up to change. The roll-out
of electronic staff rostering and review of
corporate services, post integration with
community services Wandsworth (CSW),
will also bring about changes which in turn
will help to drive down costs.
From April 2011 our cost reduction target
will be at least £40 million which represents
about seven per cent of turnover. We have
never before delivered that amount in cost
reductions. In the past we have been able
to rely on increasing our income in order to
cover the shortfall in cost savings. However,
the levels of additional income that we
have benefited from are no longer available.
The effort required to achieve these new
levels of savings will have an impact on
every member of staff and mean changing
the way that we work. There will certainly
be an impact on jobs which we will seek
to minimise by managing the recruitment
of new staff and reducing our agency
spend. However, I cannot make any
guarantees and there may well be a need
for compulsory job losses but everything
possible will be done to keep these to a
minimum. I will be in a position to share
more information with staff in April when
we have finalised our negotiations with
commissioners.
Clearly by meeting our targets and
improving quality then we can reduce the
level of risk but we all need to be on top
of our game or face significant financial
penalties. For instance, the failure of some
Our values
Our values clinical areas to produce timely discharge
summaries means we have lost £100,000
worth of income in 2010/11.
Committed to change
The publication of the Health and Social
Care Bill brings the demands that the NHS
will face over the coming years sharply in
to focus. For St George’s Healthcare the
challenge remains to maintain and improve
quality, keep strong financial control and
improve outcomes for our patients.
I am extremely proud of all that we achieve
as a trust, which makes it all the more
important that we maintain control of
our own future and do not allow others
to dictate it for us. 2010 has seen the trust
continue to work towards improving the
care it provides to patients. Integration with
CSW, which took place in October, is just
one example of our ongoing commitment
to change and improvement.
Towards the end of 2010 I toured CSW to
see for myself the many services that are
provided from key sites, including Queen
Mary’s Hospital, the Sure Start centre in
Roehampton and St John’s Therapy Centre
in Battersea. I was impressed by what I
saw and the expertise and dedication of
staff was clear. Patients were also keen to
talk about the high standard of care they
receive. In terms of integration, the real
work has just begun and we must look to
drive through the changes that will deliver
improved patient care pathways.
The trust values of excellent, kind,
responsible and respectful, launched in
the summer, are further evidence of our
commitment to change. I am aware that
many staff already embrace the values
but we must work to ensure that they are
reflected throughout the organisation and
become part of what we do each and every
day.
With this in mind, I am delighted to
announce that in 2011 we will be
launching staff ‘values’ awards sponsored
by St George’s Hospital Charity. These
new awards will help us celebrate the
work of colleagues across the trust and
demonstrate how the organisations values
help us to deliver better patient care. Look
out for more information in eG and the
February issue of the gazette.
Regards
David Astley
Chief executive