NDDH GETTING BACK ON TRACK
January 16, 2007 1:21 PM
Following a recent meeting with Jac Kelley interim Chief Executive of NDDH and Andy Robinson Chief of Finance and Performance, Nick Harvey was reassured that the hospital's finances are getting back on track. The hospital's management have been striving hard to bring down the well publicised budget deficit. Previously Jac Kelly was Chief Executive of the North Devon Primary Care Trust and Andy Robinson its Director of Finance. They successfully oversaw the PCT's recovery from a £5.4million deficit within three years.
'I am impressed with the speed with which Jac Kelly and her team have grasped the situation,' says Nick Harvey. 'The hospital needs a steady and very focused hand during this period of transition.'
According to NDDH its' anticipated in-year deficit of £14 million has been reigned in at £7m, giving a culminative debt of £16.5m. Efficiency measures include tight central control over vacancies, overtime and sickness as well as a nurse skills mix-review. Certain management responsibilities have also been devolved to some clinicians to ensure greater levels of inclusion in the management process. At the same time the hospital is striving to improve its 'weak' Healthcare Commission rating for the quality of services and use of resources.
'There have been cost cutting measures at the hospital,' observes Nick Harvey, 'including the inevitable reduction in beds numbers, but they assert that there has been no loss in services. In addition they have achieved these savings without enforced staff losses which is no mean feat. Jac Kelly also remains committed to avoiding Community Hospital Closures.'
While all this is good news public attention remains directed at the physical future of the Hospital buildings. In the wake of the Durrow report the hospital is now developing parallel service and estates strategies to map out the nature of services provided and where they should be provided.
'My concern with the recent Durrow Report was that the focus of interest unhelpfully became the estates issue,' says Nick Harvey, 'whereas what we should be focussing on is the nature and level of service provided by NDDH to the community, Jac Kelly and her team are working hard to ensure that this becomes the case.'
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