This in from Isle of Wight NHS, in their own words. Ed
The establishment of a new NHS organisation for the Island’s health services has been approved by Parliament.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust, established by Statutory Instrument 2012 No. 786 made on 10th March, enables the new body to legally come into being on 1st April 2012 and marks the transfer of the provision of services from Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) which is due to be abolished in April 2013.
The PCT continues to function as part of the Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth (SHIP) PCT Cluster supporting public health services and the new GP led Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group.
What new the Trust covers
NHS services to be provided by the new Trust cover acute hospital, mental health, ambulance, community services and prison health care. The services are provided from St Mary’s Hospital, Newport, Isle of Wight and approximately 25 other NHS and non-NHS sites across the Island.
In 2012/13 the organisations revenue is forecast to be around £160m, for services delivered by a workforce of almost 2,900 (full time equivalent).
Appointments made
The Appointments Commission has appointed the Chair and Non-executive Director to the Board. All non-executive appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees political activity (if any declared) to be made public.
Danny Fisher has been appointed as Chair and he will receive a remuneration of £20,896 per annum. Peter Taylor, Carole Kenwright, Sue Wadsworth and Noel Dobbs have each been appointed as Non-executive Directors and will each receive a remuneration of £6,096 per annum. Their appointments will run from 1 April 2012 until 31 March 2013. None of the appointees hold any other ministerial appointments or have declared any political activity.
Kevin Flynn has been appointed Chief Executive of the new NHS Trust. The Executive Directors are:
- Chief Operating Officer, Karen Baker
- Medical Director, Dr Mark Pugh
- Chief Nurse and Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Carol Alstrom
- Director of Finance and IM&T, Chris Palmer
- Director of Human Resources and OD, Terence Hart
- Foundation Trust Programme Director, Mark Price
Organisation has performed well
Mr Flynn comments: “Our history as a provider is one of success, reflected by facilitating innovation and meeting national targets for service delivery while successfully delivering financial balance. In comparison with other providers, the organisation has performed well in terms of quality and efficiency.
“However, as a provider to a relatively small and isolated offshore population of 140,000, the Trust faces some unique challenges. A population of 140,000 is less than half of that normally needed to sustain a traditional district general hospital providing a wide range of services at cost-effective levels. Patient volumes for some services are too low to cover fixed overheads of staffing and estate within standard NHS tariffs, requiring additional ‘Island Premium’ payments.
“We are focussed on providing quality healthcare to everyone, every time. The care we provide must be both clinically and financially sustainable and we are working closely with the new GP led Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the commissioners in the SHIP PCT Cluster as well as local people and organisations to create a vibrant and sustainable healthcare organisation fit for authorisation as an NHS Foundation Trust by April 2014.”
High proportion of older people
The Island’s population has amongst the highest proportion of older people in the UK, with 25% over the age of 65, and 10% over the age of 75. There is a near-doubling of the population due to visitors in the summer attending festivals and other events. There is one of the largest prisons in the UK; a population of 1,700 with complex health needs.
The first meeting in public of the new Isle of Wight NHS Trust will be at 9.00a.m. on Wednesday 4th April 2012 in the Lecture Theatre, Education Centre, St. Mary’s Hospital, Newport. Copies of the agenda and papers for the meeting are available at www.iow.nhs.uk or by telephoning 01983-822099 ext 6175.
Speaking about the new NHS Trust, Chairman Danny Fisher said: “This marks a historic moment for the Island and its healthcare. The commissioning and provision of health services will be separated on 1st April 2012 in line with Government reform of the health service. Substantial work has been undertaken to get to NHS Trust status and all those involved are to be congratulated on this significant milestone. Going forward the Island has a unique opportunity to create a self governing NHS Foundation Trust with a ‘Council of Governors’ drawn from across the Island.”
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Auntie P/a>
