WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Harriett Baldwin has offered her support to measures to improve management at Worcestershire’s Acute Trust hospitals.
The Department of Health (DoH) announced last week two new directors have been seconded from other NHS Trusts to help bolster the management team.
The NHS Trust appointed a new chair – Caragh Merrick – last year and a new chief executive is due to start shortly – alongside a number of new management appointments expected to be confirms in the coming months.
However, the DoH last week took extra steps to enhance the management team with the Trust still in special measures following a review of the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in 2015.
Mrs Baldwin has been briefed on the proposals by Health Minister Philip Dunne who wrote outlining the changes.
He welcomed the Trust’s new appointments and added this would be a ‘crucial step towards enabling the Trust to deliver sustained improvements’ and added the conclusion of the services review would be ‘an important milestone in securing the most appropriate and sustainable future for the Trust and its patients.’
Mrs Baldwin: “I have been kept up-to-date on the approach taken by the DoH to support and enhance the management team at the Acute Trust and welcome these latest changes.
“I echo the comments made by the Minister that the immediate safety of patients must be our top priority and it is vital that the Trust secures a stable management team capable of delivering the changes we all want to see at our busy county hospitals.
“I also feel it is important to express our support for the hard-working staff who are delivering excellent day-to-day care for patients across the county. Hopefully this process leads to a period of certainty for managers, staff and patients.”
