Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation providing a high level update on the transaction of the Royal Oldham Hospital (ROH), as part of the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust (PAHT), to the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) and the benefits and improvements this was bringing for the ROH site; the wider development of the ROH site; and the next steps and plans for services.  In introducing the item, the Chair congratulated David Jago on his recent appointment as Chief Officer for the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust.

The development journey of the NCA, from the 2015 CQC assessment of Salford Royal Foundation Trust as ‘outstanding’ and the 2016 assessment of PAHT as ‘inadequate’ to the pending completion of the Transaction Programme to date, was considered.  The ROH, along with Fairfield General Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, would move to the NCA, while the North Manchester General Hospital would move to the Manchester Hospitals Foundation Trust.  These moves would support the future clinical, financial and workforce sustainability of acute hospital services in the north east sector and across Greater Manchester more generally.  The improvement during the transaction journey had been dramatic, with the PAHT’s CQC assessment moving to an overall ‘good’ rating in three years.

The transaction to NCA would further unlock the potential for improvement, including the reconfiguration of services across sites and populations at pace; the optimising of investment in the workforce, estates and technology with the resultant rate of return; standardised operating models; and the enabling of economies of scale.  The NCA would increase the focus on localities, ensuring that local leaders, staff and services were better able to reflect their area’s distinct characteristics and that integrated care, tailored to the local environment, was provided.  The NCA recognised that it was a significant part of the fabric of local communities and that its long-term sustainability was closely linked to the wellbeing of those communities.

The ROH would not only be a local general hospital but would move towards becoming a high acuity specialist centre and a designated hub for complex surgery as envisaged by the 2015 Healthier Together decision.  While creating capacity for such work would require some less complex work to be undertaken at other NCA sites, the objective across the NCA was to have good quality, sustainable specialist and hospital services for the future that would be needed in order to continue to improve services for patients across Oldham; to create a system where patients consistently receive good quality and safe treatment under the right clinical team, in the most clinically appropriate setting, first time, every time, as part of an integrated care pathway; and to ensure that any significant service changes will be subject to commissioner-led public consultations, for which strong evidence of patient benefits and assurances around access will be critical.

Work was being undertaken with Oldham system leaders to develop plans for the future delivery health and care for the population of Oldham.  The impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of services was acknowledged and considered, and a recovery plan was being developed with partners across the Oldham system to overcome the challenges created by the pandemic.

Confirmation that the issues as presented meant that the ‘getting to good’ journey was almost complete was sought.  Such assurance was given, with the final sign-off for the transaction process transferring three hospitals to the NCA being anticipated in the coming months: from that point onwards the benefits of the process should begin to come forward.  With regard to local health services provided and any changes that might occur, the implementation of the 2015 Healthier Together decision and the response to Covid-19 which had already driven certain changes were noted.  The Committee was advised that being part of a wider grouping would provide added flexibility in meeting these changes.  It was acknowledged that while there were significant financial challenges remaining to be addressed, the overall position on this appeared brighter.  

With regard to the development of the ROH as a high acuity centre, the future for routine services such as diabetic and cardiac services was queried, along with the limitations of the ROH site where the limited amount of available space for expansion was noted.  In response, it was suggested that the concept of ‘hospital’ services needed to be addressed, and that if services continued to be provided in the current manner then demand would exceed supply.  The future focus would be on looking to manage people closer to home, outside of the acute sector.  However, it was acknowledged that parts of the ROH were old and possibly not fit for purpose going forward, and a business case was being developed to address this. 

Members sought a consideration of employment opportunities for the local community at the Hospital, including the availability of apprenticeships.  It was noted that overall, staff turnover was low at the Hospital.  However, work was being undertaken with the local further education looking to identify what vacancies could be offered within the local community and work was in progress with providers with regard to the Apprenticeship Levy.  Members asked for a further report to be submitted in respect of this work.

RESOLVED – that

1.            the update presentation on the position of the Royal Oldham Hospital be noted;

2.            further reports be submitted to the Committee providing an updates on the completion of the transaction programme and in respect of employment and apprenticeship opportunities at the Royal Oldham Hospital.