Wye Valley NHS Trust was established in 2011 by a merger of Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust with Herefordshire PCT community services and Herefordshire Council’s Adult Social Care services. It runs Hereford County Hospital, Bromyard Community Hospital, Leominster Community Hospital and Ross Community Hospital, in Herefordshire, England.
| Wye Valley NHS Trust | |
|---|---|
| Type | NHS hospital trust |
| Budget | £176 million |
| Hospitals | Hereford County Hospital |
| Chair | Russell Hardy |
| Chief executive | Glen Burley |
| Website | www |
Future
editIt has relied on external financial support of about £9 million a year for some years and has accepted that it will not attain NHS Foundation Trust status in its present form.[1] It announced plans to seek either a partnership with an NHS foundation trust, a private-sector franchise or the break-up of its services to a number of providers, but in February 2014 after “an exhaustive examination of the options” to test their financial and clinical viability the Trust Board “found that none of them appeared to meet the stringent criteria required”.[2]
The chairman of the Trust confirmed in March 2014 that he was stepping down. He told the Hereford Times he was leaving after 11 years with the NHS in the county to “pursue business interests.” He was the third high-profile loss to the Trust in 2014 with both chief executive Derek Smith and medical director Dr Peter Wilson confirming that they were leaving in June and May respectively.[3]
Three board members from South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust were appointed to run the trust in October 2016 after the Trust's chair, appointed in 2014, Museji Takolia resigned. The chief executive Glen Burley and chair Russell Hardy will be appointed chief executive and chair of Wye Valley on a part-time basis in a move reported as likely to lead to the formation of a hospital chain,[4] a development opposed by local MP Jesse Norman.[5] In July 2017 it agreed to set up a “foundation group” to create twin Accountable care organizations with South Warwickshire, though there does not appear to be any plan to merge the two trusts.[6]
Performance
edit
It was put into special measures by the Care Quality Commission from October 2014 to November 2016.[7]
It was one of the worst-performing trusts in England against NHS targets for both the referral to treatment and accident and emergency with 91 patients who had waited more than 52 weeks for treatment in October 2018, and was in a dispute with the clinical commissioning group over the cost of bringing down the waiting list.[8]
Capacity
editHereford County Hospital has 208 beds. In December 2014 it was taking between 35 and 55 emergency admissions each day, of which about 23% are discharged the same day. It transfers around 50 patients a month to private sector providers because of lack of capacity. Non-elective patients stay an average 6 days and elective patients 2 days. A&E attendances increased by 1,640 (3.6%) from 2012/13 to 2013/14. The majority of the increase since 2012/13 1,368 (83.4%) are people over 65.[9]
In April 2014 it was reported that two minor injury units in Hereford, were closed for a month as staff were moved to Hereford County Hospital's A&E in order "boost the resources at Hereford County Hospital’s accident and emergency department enabling the trust to continue to see and treat patients, and care for the increased number of patients requiring admission to acute hospital".[10]
Kier Group has a contract for a £40m programme of reconfiguration works at Hereford County Hospital.[11]
The trust was one of the beneficiaries of Boris Johnson's announcement of capital funding for the NHS in August 2019, with an allocation of £23.6 million for new hospital wards in Hereford providing 72 beds.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Analysed: The way ahead for Wye Valley Trust". Health Service Journal. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Uncertainty over Wye Valley future". Health Service Journal. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Chairman of Wye Valley NHS Trust to stand down". Hereford Times. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- ^ "Trusts make first moves towards hospital chain". Health Service Journal. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "'Secret hospital takeover plan': Hereford MP says public being kept in dark over proposal to hand running of hospital to an NHS Trust 70 miles away". Hereford Times. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ "New trust 'foundation group' formed across counties". Health Service Journal. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ "Wye Valley NHS Trust out of special measures". BBC News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Regulators intervene in 52-week wait payment dispute". Health Service Journal. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "Prime Minister commits to action over Hereford County Hospital". Hereford Times. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ "NHS bosses shut walk-in centres as A&E crisis deepens while desperate hospitals want to turn away patients". Daily Mirror. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
- ^ "Kier wins £250m of health deals including Hampshire hospital design-and-build job". Construction News. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ "Revealed: The 20 capital projects promised by the PM". Health Service Journal. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.