ALTON residents are to be given a greater say in how North Hampshire Hospital at Basingstoke should be run. The three-star hospital has been invited to apply for NHS Foundation Trust status by the Department of Health and is expecting to become a Foundation Hospital by the autumn. The move will make the trust more accountable to the local population through its membership and an elected and nominated council of governors, who will be in a position to influence the development of services to meet the needs of local patients. The new trust will be regulated by Monitor, the independent regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts. It will have more financial freedom, including the ability to retain any surpluses earned each year under the national tariff regime and invest them in improving services for local patients. It will also be able to borrow capital funds from public and private sector lenders to build new facilities and improve existing ones. The trust will enter into legally binding contracts with its service commissioners, including Primary Care Trusts and local GPs, who will monitor the quality of services provided. Under these contracts the trust is to be paid at an agreed national tariff for all its services, which is expected to help maintain financial stability. In addressing last week's meeting of East Hampshire District Council's north west area community committee, NH Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Mary Edwards said Foundation Trust status was key to the changing face of the NHS. Having worked hard over the past five years to reduce patient waiting times the focus was now on driving the quality of service provision up so that NHS hospitals could compete favourably as part of an increasingly competitive health market. The aim, said Mrs Edwards, was to deliver "good quality care provided with respect and dignity" in line with the core NHS principles, which are to treat patients according to need, not ability to pay; to deliver NHS services to NHS patients free at the point of use; and to maintain the national quality standards for NHS services. "We want to be the hospital of choice for the local community," said Mary Edwards, who is keen to extend North Hampshire Hospital's specialist services in order to attract more high-calibre staff which in turn will attract patients and benefit the hospital financially. Likening Foundation Trust status to a public benefit corporation with all the characteristics of mutuality, Mrs Edwards outlined the benefits to the patients, carers and the public who will have the opportunity to become much more involved with the hospital and to the staff who will have more freedom to help develop services and influence how the hospital operates. The trust will have greater ability to direct its own future and partners will be able to work more closely with the hospital to develop collaborative services to improve the health of the local population. To be known as the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital Foundation Trust, it will comprise a board of directors who are already in place, a newly- elected and nominated council of 27 governors - to include staff, patient carer groups and partner organisations - and a membership which can be as large as the 280,000 patients living within the catchment area, but is more likely to be around 10,000. It will be the members who are expected to act as ambassadors for the local community. They will be able to vote in elections and decide who sits on the council of governors and become more involved by standing for election as a governor. They will receive regular newsletters and information about the trust, will be invited to special events and meetings, and invited to comment on new services and service development plans. There was an accusation from the floor that Foundation Trust status would simply pave the way for the introduction of another layer of administration with all the inherent costs. "A valid challenge," said Mary Edwards, who admitted to concerns over membership management and communication costs. Another concern was over the council of governors which would only allow for one local authority representative from either East Hampshire District Council or Basingstoke and Deane, raising questions over adequate representation for the Alton and Bordon area. And there were questions over patient choice. Most people in the UK rely on word of mouth and advice from their local GP when deciding where to go for treatment. It was important, said Mrs Edwards, to shore up the quality of service at Basingstoke and to get positive messages out about the hospital. "That is why members will be so important - they can act as ambassadors by sharing this information with the public." While the question of whether or not to apply for Foundation Trust status is not an option, the public consultation into how it will operate will continue until the end of May. Comments and suggestions can be made via e-mail to [email protected]">[email protected] by telephone on 01256 313601 or in writing to the Foundation Trust project team at the North Hampshire Hospital, Aldermaston Road, Basingstoke, RG24 9NA.
