Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Archives - Page 7 of 18

Harrogate hospital appointments rearranged after CT scanner breakdown

Harrogate hospital has been forced to rearrange 76 scan appointments after one of its CT scanners broke down.

Patients due appointments this past week were either told their scans were rearranged or referred to Leeds.

Officials at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the scanner had “a number of breakdowns” over the last four weeks, each of which left it non-operational for up to two days.

CT scans create detailed images of inside the body which can identify issues such as tumours.

In total, 76 patients had their non-urgent appointments rearranged and 41 who required urgent scans were sent to Leeds.

Hospital managers say the scanner has since been repaired and will be replaced in June.

A spokesperson for the hospital trust said:

“Over the last four weeks, one of the machines has experienced a number of breakdowns, each lasting one or two days. This has unfortunately meant that some non-urgent scans have needed to be re-arranged, which we have done so as a priority.

“The health and safety of our patients is our primary concern and those people needing urgent scans during the periods in which our CT scanner was not working, were transferred to hospitals in Leeds to ensure their scan could take place.

“The scanner has now been repaired. By early June, a new CT scanner will be installed at Harrogate District Hospital, which will work alongside our other CT scanners, ensuring we have additional resilience in the future.

“We are committed to providing the best possible healthcare service for our community and over the next few years, we are investing around £3 million in our imaging department to provide new digital x-ray and CT scanners. This will further improve on the service we provide and significantly reduce waiting times for patients.”

Hard up Harrogate hospital staff sell back 2,000 days off in six months

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital sold back almost 2,000 days off that they were entitled to in just six months, figures reveal.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, introduced a policy last year where staff could ‘sell’ time off they had accrued back to the trust in order to receive extra money in their pay packets.

It was hoped the move would ease the financial burden that many staff have been under throughout winter as the cost-of-living crisis deepened.

At the time, chief executive Jonathan Coulter even said the finances of some people working for the trust were putting them under more stress than the benefit of having a holiday.

The policy, which has now closed, was capped at a maximum of five days off sold per employee.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service sent a freedom of information request to the trust, which employs around 3,500 people, asking how many staff had taken the trust up on its offer.

The figures show that between September 2022 and March 2023, 492 employees sold back 14,480 hours.

If this were divided into seven-and-a-half hour shifts, it equates to around 1,800 individual days off sold.

Harrogate hospital

Since the policy was introduced in September, members of health unions have gone on strike over low pay, which they argue is compromising patient safety and leading to an exodus of trained professionals from the NHS.

Ben Kirkham, GMB Union regional organiser, said the move by the trust to let staff sell days off is exacerbating staff burnout and sickness. He added:

“The NHS is suffering from chronic underfunding and a major crisis in staffing, resulting in huge appointment and operation back logs.

“For both staff and patients its vital that the NHS is funded properly and that means urgent investment.”

A Royal College of Nursing spokesperson said:

“RCN members are caught between twin crises. The cost-of-living crisis in which selling annual leave is one method of making ends meet and the staffing crisis. Nursing staff are already required to work significant levels of unpaid overtime to support increasingly unsafe levels of staffing across many health and care settings.”

‘Help staff with their money worries’

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“Last year, as a consequence of the cost of living crisis and the pressures faced by our staff due to spiralling day-to-day costs, we introduced a cost of living package providing a wide range of support to help colleagues who were struggling.

“The support included financial aid in the form of a hardship grant, general help, advice and resources on financial and mental wellbeing, and for the first time, the opportunity for staff to sell up to five days of their holiday entitlement during 2022/23 financial year.

“Whilst we encourage colleagues to take their annual leave as it enables our minds and bodies to rest and recuperate, we felt that the option for staff to sell some of their annual leave would be appreciated as it would provide a further opportunity to help them with their money worries.

“The scheme ran until the end of March this year and we were pleased to support 492 colleagues who chose to sell some of their annual leave.

“Our staff are our greatest asset and it is important that we support them in these challenging times. Our range of support for staff continues to develop and we will look at introducing further means of support for our staff in the future.”

Interim leader of Harrogate hospital given permanent role

The interim chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been appointed to the post permanently, the hospital has announced.

Jonathan Coulter has held the post on a temporary basis previous chief executive Steve Russell went on secondment as national director for vaccines and screening with NHS England last February.

His move was made permanent in December, after which HDFT began recruiting nationally for a replacement. HDFT chair Sarah Armstrong said:

“I am delighted Jonathan has been appointed to the role of chief executive and I know he will lead the organisation with care, dedication and commitment.

“This is an exciting time for our trust. We are committed to providing the best possible level of healthcare for our community and we have a number of exciting projects over the next few years which will further improve on the high quality health and wellbeing service we provide.

“Jonathan’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable in driving these projects forward and I am very much looking forward to working closely with him in the future.”

Mr Coulter has worked in the NHS for more than 30 years, of which 20 have been as a director. He became finance director at HDFT in March 2006 before being appointed deputy chief executive four years later.

He said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed permanently into the role of chief executive.

“HDFT is a brilliant organisation with wonderful people. It is very humbling to be in a position to support all of our fantastic colleagues to be the best that they can be, and continue to do what we try to do every day, which is to help and support the people who need us.”

Blood testing to move from Harrogate to Knaresborough due to Sainsbury’s pharmacy closure

A blood testing service in Harrogate is set to move to Knaresborough after the closure of a supermarket pharmacy.

The relocation comes as Lloyds Pharmacy in Sainsbury’s on Wetherby Road is set to close.

The service, which is run by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, is operated from the supermarket pharmacy to provide flexibility for patients who require a blood test.

This is in addition to appointments at Harrogate District Hospital.

The service will relocate to Chain Lane Community Hub in Knaresborough on Tuesday, May 2, and will be open Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 11am.

Emma Jocelyn, phlebotomy manager at HDFT said:

“We know that being able to have a blood test at a community location is extremely popular.

“We were keen to continue this service in the future and we are delighted to have found the ideal venue at the Chain Lane Community Hub which offers ample free parking, is well served by public transport, is fully accessible and has convenient shopping nearby.”

Ms Jocelyn added:

“The Chain Lane Community Hub location will be more convenient for some people, and we know that for others, the chance of being seen more quickly than at our hospital due to the shorter queues will appeal.

“We look forward to welcoming those people who need our help to our fantastic new location.”

People who would have previously gone to Sainsbury’s for blood tests are being encouraged to visit the Chain Lane Community Hub amid upcoming building work at the hospital, which will reduce the waiting area at the hospital blood test service.

Visitors will not need to book an appointment, however they will need to bring with them an ICE request form from their GP or consultant for the test to be undertaken.

Sue Vasey, from the Chain Lane Community Hub, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming the phlebotomy team to the community centre.

“This will be great for the people of Knaresborough and surrounding areas and we look forward to supporting this important new service to the town.”

Lloyds Pharmacy announced in January it was to close 237 of its outlets in Sainsbury’s supermarkets nationally.

The group said it made the decision due to “changing market conditions”.

Almost 500 appointments cancelled at Harrogate hospital due to junior doctors’ strike

Last week’s junior doctors’ strike led to 470 appointments and 21 operations being cancelled and rescheduled at Harrogate District Hospital.

It was the second round of industrial action undertaken by members of the British Medical Association union this year and saw junior doctors strike over pay for an unprecedented four days.

Nationally, it’s estimated more than 190,000 appointments had to be cancelled last week.

Junior doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training and they make up nearly half of the medical workforce in England.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson described what impact the strikes had at the Lancaster Park Road hospital.

They said:

“During the recent junior doctors’ industrial action, our focus was to maintain safe patient care and ensure emergency services would continue to operate.

“A number of clinical colleagues were freed up from activities, such as outpatient clinics and theatre sessions, to support emergency cover of our wards and departments which were impacted by the strike.

“Some planned, non-urgent treatment, including 470 outpatient appointments and 21 elective operations, needed to be rescheduled. The postponed appointments and treatments are being rescheduled as a priority so that that our patients can be seen as soon as possible.

“We appreciate this situation is frustrating for those affected and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The British Medical Association says while workload and waiting lists are at record highs, junior doctors’ pay has effectively been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.

It is asking for a pay-rise of 35%, which it says will reverse 15 years of real-term cuts.

A BMA spokesperson said:

“If junior doctors are forced out of the NHS because of poor pay and conditions, the services we all rely on to look after our loved ones will suffer.”

Health secretary Steve Barclay said the number of cancelled appointments and operations last week was “deeply disappointing”.

He said:

“We remain ready to start formal talks with the BMA as soon as the union pauses its strikes and moves significantly from its unrealistic position of demanding a 35% pay increase – which would result in some junior doctors receiving a pay rise of £20,000.”

More NHS strikes

Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to take part in two days of industrial action over the upcoming May bank holiday.

The strike will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30, to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2.

Unlike the two previous Royal College of Nursing (RCN) strikes at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road this year, it will involve nurses working in emergency departments, intensive care, cancer and other wards.

Bank holiday nurses’ strike to impact intensive care and cancer wards in Harrogate

Nurses at Harrogate District Hospital are set to take part in two days of industrial action over the upcoming May bank holiday.

The strike will take place from 8pm on Sunday, April 30, to 8pm on Tuesday, May 2.

It is taking place because members of the union rejected the government’s latest pay offer of a 5% rise plus a lump sum of at least £1,655.

Nurses on picket lines have said low pay is forcing nurses to leave the profession which is risking patient safety.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has been impacted by a series of national strikes over the last few months.

Last week, junior doctors took part in an unprecedented four days of industrial action over pay and there have been previous strikes by nurses and ambulance workers.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen wrote to health secretary Steve Barclay on Friday calling on him to make an improved offer to nurses “as soon as possible” in order to avert the strike.

Ms Cullen wrote:

“What has been offered to date is simply not enough. The government needs to increase what has already been offered and we will be highly critical of any move to reduce it.

“Since our talks in February, we have seen the pressures on the NHS continue to increase. The crisis in our health and care services cannot be addressed without significant action that addresses urgent recruitment and retention issues and nursing pay to bring this dispute to a close urgently.”

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said the trust is developing “comprehensive plans” to “keep disruption to a minimum” at Harrogate hospital. They said emergency services will continue to operate as normal.

The spokesperson said:

“During strike action, urgent and emergency treatment will be our priority. We will be working with our nursing staff to deliver safe services, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action.

“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“Nobody should put off seeking urgent or emergency care during the strikes, and key services will continue to operate.

“For people who require medical assistance and are considering visiting our Emergency Department, unless it’s a life-threatening or a severe illness or injury, we would ask that they contact NHS 111 first either by calling or going online https://111.nhs.uk/. The NHS will help them right away and if they need urgent care, the NHS can book them in to be seen quickly and safely.

“People with life-threatening or severe illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999 and anyone who arrives at A&E without calling NHS 111 will still receive medical care, with those needing emergency treatment prioritised.

“While pay is a matter for government and the trade unions, we greatly value our staff and want to see a resolution as soon as possible to ensure we can continue to focus on delivering high quality patient care to all those who need it.”

Harrogate hospital advertises for new chief executive

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust is advertising for a new chief executive.

Steve Russell left the role last year to take up a secondment at NHS England as director for covid and flu vaccinations.

In December, it was confirmed Mr Russel had taken up a position as director of vaccination and screening permanently and would not be returning to Harrogate.

The trust, which runs both Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital, has been overseen by acting chief executive Jonathan Coulter since February 2022.

A notice on the trust’s website advertising the role closes on April 26 with interviews due to take place on May 10 and 11.

No details of salary is included. However, Mr Coulter is paid a salary of £181,000.

The role requires a candidate to have five years’ experience at board or director level and to ensure the trust’s services are “safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led”.

The move to appoint a new chief executive comes as the trust tackles long waiting lists, A&E waiting times and junior doctors strikes.

Last month, the Care Quality Commission also rated Harrogate hospital’s maternity services as “requires improvement”.

However, Mr Coulter said the rating was “not a fair reflection” of the service.

Harrogate hospital food rated worst in country by patients

Hospital food in Harrogate is the worst in the country, according to patients.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust received the lowest rating of all the hospital trusts assessed in the NHS survey.

Patients awarded the trust, which runs Harrogate District Hospital, 72% for food quality.

The next lowest was Mid-Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with 74%, closely followed by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Private provider Bupa rated the highest with 100%.

NHS Digital published the figures as part of its 2022 Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment programme.

PLACE assessments are an annual appraisal of the non-clinical aspects of NHS and independent/private healthcare settings.

Harrogate fared better on cleanliness, ranking 53rd of the 222 organisations with a score of 99.49%.

But it was a lowly 192nd on privacy, dignity and wellbeing with a score of 81%.

Hospital issues apology

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We strive to provide the best possible levels of service for those people in our care and we are extremely disappointed that we were unable to meet the expectations of our patients when the assessment took place.

“We would like to apologise to anyone who has been dissatisfied by the service we provided.

“It is important that we learn lessons from these findings as food is an important part of a patient’s hospital experience. The quality of food provided to our patients has always been high, but there is the opportunity to improve on the levels of service.

“We take such assessments extremely seriously and have already started to make improvements to address the concerns that have been raised.”

“These improvements have already had a significant impact and we will continue to make further changes to ensure we are meeting our patients’ expectations.”

Harrogate hospital to remove parking barriers to ease traffic queues

A new parking system is set to be introduced in a bid to ease queues outside Harrogate District Hospital.

Residents and visitors have reported long lines of traffic approaching the hospital on Lancaster Park Road, particularly at visiting times in the afternoon.

Now, the hospital said it will remove parking barriers and introduce a new system to help traffic move more freely around the car park and its approaches.

A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:

“We are aware that at certain periods of the day, such as during visiting hours, Lancaster Park Road can become congested with traffic due to an increase in the number of drivers wanting to park at our hospital.

“We understand that this is not ideal for patients and visitors, especially at peak times, and we have been looking at how we can improve the flow of traffic onto our site to ease congestion.

“Entry to our car park is currently controlled by a barrier, however, later this year this will be removed in favour of an alternative parking system, which will help with flow into the car park.”

One nearby resident who contacted the Stray Ferret said it was a daily problem for visitors to the hospital.

Bill Shaw told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s total gridlock and the hospital car park is full! people who have appointments or just visiting have nowhere to park – a weekly day fiasco.

“The ambulances on blue lights have to negotiate this time wasting problem.”

The hospital spokesperson said Yorkshire Ambulance Service had not raised any concerns about delays or access problems caused by traffic.

He added:

“Due to the limited space on our hospital site we are currently unable to increase our car parking capacity and we would encourage visitors to consider other means of visiting if they are able to do so, such as by public transport or walking.”

Harrogate hospital: Patients will be safe during junior doctors’ four-day strike

The chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has given assurances that patients will be safe during an upcoming junior doctors strike.

Doctors union the British Medical Association announced that its members will take part in industrial action from today until 7am on Saturday, April 15.

The strike will be longer than the 72-hour action by junior doctors that took place at Harrogate District Hospital last month and follows other strikes this year by nurses and ambulance workers.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of the hospital trust, told a meeting of the trust’s board members that the hospital has a “robust plan” in place to deal with any disruption should the junior doctors strike goes ahead as planned.

He said:

“Lots of work went into preparing for the last junior doctor’s strike. The biggest learning we found was the role of other professionals to cover roles.

“The strike is obviously concerning but I’m confident we’ll have safe services. There’s a cost of people covering the work and planning it and the cost to the patients who have work delayed. Services will be safe and let’s hope theres a solution relatively quickly.”

It’s estimated that more than 175,000 patient appointments and procedures had to be cancelled in England during the last junior doctors strike.

The BMA is asking for a pay-rise of 35%, which it says will reverse 15 years of real-term cuts. However, the government says this demand is unaffordable.

The trust says outpatients appointments and planned activity may be affected at Harrogate hospital but patients will be contacted if appointments need to be rearranged.

It has asked people who require medical assistance and are considering visiting A&E to contact 111 first unless it’s life-threatening or a severe injury.

Why are the junior doctors striking?

Junior doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training and they make up nearly half of the medical workforce in England.

The British Medical Association says while workload and waiting lists are at record highs, junior doctors’ pay has effectively been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.

A BMA spokesperson said:

“If junior doctors are forced out of the NHS because of poor pay and conditions, the services we all rely on to look after our loved ones will suffer.”

A NHS spokesperson said:

“Our door remains open to constructive conversations, as we have had with other health unions, to find a realistic way forward.”

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‘Help staff with their money worries’

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More NHS strikes

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Hospital issues apology

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Why are the junior doctors striking?