Agenda item

To provide members with an overview of the reasons for the pause in the proposed hospital merger planning.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

John Denning, Chairman, Royal Surrey County Hospital

Suzanne Rankin, Chief Executive, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital

Aileen McLeish, Chairman, Ashford and Saint Peter’s Hospital

Giselle Rothwell, Head of Communications, Ashford and Saint Peter’s Hospital

Key pointed raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman of Royal Surrey County Hospital introduced the report and informed the Board that the merger was on hold. It was outlined that an NHS Improvement investigation was underway and that both the Chief Executive and Finance Director of Royal Surrey had stood down. The Board was informed that a regulator approved Turnaround Director had been appointed for six months.

2.    The Board questioned whether the merger between the two organisations would still be viable in light of the financial position of Royal Surrey County Hospital. The Chairman of Royal Surrey County Hospital expressed the view that the strategic principles for the merger were still applicable. The Board was informed that a merger would provide better opportunities for long-term sustainability of service and funding for both Trusts. It was noted that the external environment had changed and that the Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) would develop a long term view as to how NHS services remained sustainable.

3.    Witnesses confirmed that the merger had a potential to realise savings of £10 million per annum. The Board asked for detail on whether the merger would see closures at one of the three hospitals sites. It was confirmed that the merger proposal had described a situation where there was a future for each of the three sites, and continuing the services already provided.

Bob Gardner arrived at the meeting at 11.00 am.

4.    The Board expressed concern over the financial governance and reporting arrangements for Royal Surrey County Hospital, and highlighted the sudden increase of the financial deficit in the final quarter of 2015/16. The Chairman advised the Board that he would write to NHS England Improvement to ensure they fully consulted with governors at the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He thanked Bill Barker for his hard work as a governor for Royal Surrey.

5.    The Chairman of Royal Surrey explained to the Board that both organisations faced ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff. The Board was informed that the recruitment issue was a national problem. It was suggested that a way to help resolve this issue would be to share staff and promote recruitment days at universities and overseas. It was stated that one of the main issues when recruiting staff is housing affordability in Surrey.

Pauline Searle arrived at the meeting at 11.17 am.

6.    The Board discussed the reasons for a formal merger, and what could be realised informally. Witnesses highlighted that there were achievable benefits being realised in this regard, but that a formal merger would provide clear reporting lines and clarity of vision for hospital staff.

Recommendations:

The Board resolved

·         That the Chairman write to the NHS Improvement team seeking assurances that governors at Royal Surrey will be given the opportunity to share their views as part of the reporting process.

The Board recommended:

·         That the findings and recommendations of the NHS Improvement report are brought to a future meeting of the Wellbeing and Health Scrutiny Board;

·         That the business case and revised timeline for the merger is brought back to the Board, at an appropriate time following the publication of the both the Improvement report and STP plans.