Thank you for your interest in this story

To continue reading this article, sign up today to unlock exclusive content and be part of our community discussions

Exclusive discounts
Enjoy commenting on local issues

Already a subscriber? Log in here.

Aug 2023

Health

Union criticises Harrogate hospital for spending £1.2m on management consultants

Published: 17 Aug 2023, 06:15 BST

by John Grainger

Harrogate District Hospital intends that all 5,000 of its employees will be included in its continuous improvement programme.

One of Britain’s biggest trade unions has weighed in on Harrogate hospital’s decision to spend £1.2 million on hiring management consultants to develop a “culture of continuous improvement”.

Unite the Union, which has more than 1.2 million members in the UK and Ireland, said “paying consultants to produce a report that will gather dust on a shelf” was “not a good use of taxpayers’ money” and urged Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust to urgently review the decision.

The trust signed a contract with KPMG and Catalysis in March, which will run for 18 months to September 2024.

KPMG is one of the world’s largest multinational professional services companies, and Catalysis is a Wisconsin-based not-for-profit organisation that works to help healthcare bodies become more efficient.

Unite’s national officer for health, Colenzo Jarrett Thorpe, told the Stray Ferret:

“The board of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust needs an urgent review of this decision since it is not a good use of taxpayers’ money. Consultants are called in to tell the organisation what they already know or what they want to hear, without having the foresight to have the discussion with key stakeholders such as staff and trade unions and patient groups first.

“The £1.2 million would be better spent cutting agency spend, improving flexible working for all employees, and reducing the vacancy rates across the trust, rather than paying consultants to produce a report that will gather dust on a shelf and will not impact anyone.”

Harrogate hospital to review emergency department security staff

Harrogate hospital awards consultants £1.2m to embed culture of 'continuous improvement'

'Beeping' barriers to be removed by September at Harrogate hospital

The trust has said its continuous improvement programme, called HDFT Impact, will ultimately involve all 5,000-plus employees, who will be encouraged to share knowledge with each other and come up with ways to improve the way the Trust delivers its services.

Mr Jarrett-Thorpe said:

“If the trust wanted to involve all employees, why doesn’t it improve and strengthen access and facilities to trade union representatives in the trust? Trade unions representatives can help retention of NHS staff, staff morale, improve safety at work, increase staff engagement, productivity and learning opportunities.”

The trust argues its continuous improvement agenda has brought about positive change over the last decade. KPMG and Catalysis are also reported to have helped other hospital trusts save hundreds of thousands of pounds in efficiencies, increase surgeries, reduce patient falls, and improve care outcomes.

In a statement issued earlier this month, the trust said:

“Continuous improvement is not a new concept at HDFT. It has been integral in helping us to develop our services and bring improvements for patients and colleagues for a long time – we have been using a lean quality improvement approach for over 10 years. We know this approach works and we’ve seen the improvements it can bring for patients and colleagues.”

Thank you for your interest in this story

Union criticises Harrogate hospital for spending £1.2m on management consultants

Read more: