Why is Harrogate hospital running a £8m deficit?NHS not broken, says Harrogate hospital bossHospital ‘missed opportunity’ in lead up to Harrogate woman’s death, inquest hearsHarrogate hospital releases image of new surgery buildingHarrogate hospital gets new equipment for lung cancer treatment

Harrogate District Hospital has received new equipment to improve lung cancer treatments.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the new equipment would allow staff to carry out endobronchial ultrasound scans (EBUS), which are used for diagnosing and staging lung cancer.

Patients currently have to travel to other hospitals for the scans.

The trust added the equipment can also be used to test for infections and chronic inflammatory diseases.

It added the procedure, which takes less than an hour, will improve patient care and waiting times.

Dr Khizer Khan, consultant in respiratory medicine at the trust, said:

“Previously patients would need to be referred to other NHS trusts for the EBUS procedure, leading to patients waiting during the referral process and inconvenient trips for patients between hospitals.

“However, with the ability to perform EBUS scans at Harrogate District Hospital, patients can receive more timely assessment and then treatment based on their current cancer diagnosis.”

A trust spokesperson told the Stray Ferret the equipment cost about £200,000.

The hospital’s lung and cancer service has also introduced a new treatment for lung cancer patients who develop liquid between their lungs and chest cavity.

The trust said the treatment, known as indwelling pleural catheters, means once patients have had the specially-designed drainage tubes fitted they no longer require visits to the hospital to drain the fluid. Instead, nurses can drain the fluid at the patient’s home.

Dr Khan added:

“I have already performed several procedures at Harrogate District Hospital which have been a great success for both the patients and our team.

“The indwelling pleural catheter serves as a bridge between pain and comfort, empowering patients to navigate their days with dignity and grace.”

Pictured are (left to right) Dr Sana Ahmad (respiratory registrar), Dr Khizer Khan (respiratory consultant), Benice Mpholle (endoscopy nurse), Howard Richardson (endoscopy nurse), Michael Wakefield (respiratory sonsultant), Brian Drummond (endoscopy nurse).

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Community diagnostic centre opens at Ripon hospital

A community diagnostic centre has opened at Ripon Community Hospital.

The £1 million centre aims to provide Ripon residents with faster access to checks, scans and tests for a wide range of health conditions.

It has the capacity to deliver more than 27,000 checks a year and will enable Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust to offer more appointments for tests, reduce waiting times and make it easier for the local community to access diagnostic services closer to home.

The centre offers services to people who have been referred by their GP for conditions including musculoskeletal problems, lung conditions, cardiovascular conditions and hearing issues.

A number of services have not been available at Ripon Community Hospital before, including ultrasound, echocardiography, audiology, blood tests, ambulatory blood pressure monitor fitting, electrocardiogram (ECG), spirometry (breathing and lung function tests) and tests for asthma.

Later this month, a new x-ray room will be opened in the centre using the latest diagnostic imaging technology that can capture and processes images faster than current equipment, which will reduce waiting times.

Located on the ground floor of the hospital, the centre will initially be open five days a week from 8am to 6pm, with plans to expand to seven days a week by the end of 2024. The x-ray service once opened will be available seven days a week.

Matt Graham, director of strategy at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the centre would provide “a huge benefit for the people of Ripon and the surrounding area”.

He added:

“It is a significant step forward in improving the range of diagnostic tests available in Ripon and it is helping us improve access to healthcare for our rural population. People now have the opportunity to have tests completed on their doorstep rather than having to travel further afield.

“We have been working closely with GPs in Ripon since the start of the project so that we can streamline access to our community diagnostic centre for those people who need it.”

Wendy Balmain, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board director for North Yorkshire, said:

“This is fantastic news for people living in Ripon and surrounding area and will mean they will have convenient access to a wide range of diagnostic tests.

“It’s a revolution in the way patients access diagnostic services and will speed up the detection of many serious illnesses, meaning patients can start their treatment and recovery much sooner.”

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Outrage as Harrogate hospital parking firm ‘incorrectly’ issues fine

A parking company has defended a decision to issue a parking ticket to a motorist at Harrogate District Hospital, despite dropping the charge upon appeal.

Parkeye oversees car parks at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

The hospital brought in the company to operate its new parking arrangements in September, which includes automatic number plate recognition and a ticketless system.

However, some patients and visitors have criticised the decision after being given fines due to problems paying for parking.

Tamsin O’Brien was visiting a friend at the Lascelles Unit at the hospital on October 24.

She paid £4.15 to park for 45 minutes at the unit, which is part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

However, she received a fine from Parkingeye on November 2 of £70 despite paying the charge.

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Ms O’Brien appealed the decision, but was told the appeal was unsuccessful on November 11 and that the fine still stood.

She then took the matter to Parking On Private Land Appeals, the industry arbitrator, and a week later received a letter from the company which stated that the fine was dropped.

Ms O’Brien said the company had ignored evidence that she had paid.

She said:

“My experience with Parkingeye was outrageous – it’s one thing to wrongly issue a charge because the company’s tech isn’t working correctly. It’s quite another thing though, to ignore irrefutable evidence that I paid to park, to reject my appeal, and to continue to pursue a charge.

“There will be many people who would find an experience like this very stressful- particularly when they maybe visiting loved ones in hospital who may be seriously ill.”

The Stray Ferret approached Parkingeye to ask why it had issued the fine after Ms O’Brien had paid the parking fee.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“The car park at the Lascelles Unit has eight prominent and highly-visible signs that give motorists clear guidance on how to use the car park responsibly, including guidance that it is staff parking only.

“The motorist parked in an area reserved for staff only without a staff permit and therefore correctly received a parking charge. However, following a review of the case we have cancelled as a gesture of goodwill.

“We would add that Parkingeye operates a BPA (British Parking Association) audited appeals process, which motorists can use to appeal their parking charge. If anyone has mitigating circumstances, we would encourage them to highlight this by appealing.”

However, in a letter outlining its refusal to the her appeal, Parkingeye told Ms O’Brien on November 11:

“We have reviewed the details outlined in your appeal, but we are not in receipt of sufficient evidence to confirm that the terms and conditions were not breached. The signage located at the above car park instructs motorists to enter their full, correct vehicle registration into the payment machine or terminal on site. 

“After reviewing our records, we are unable to locate any vehicle details that match your vehicle registration. We believe this is due to either a major keying error taking place, or no vehicle registration details being entered at all.”

Ms O’Brien said she was “baffled” by Parkingeye’s response to the Stray Ferret and the fact that it did not match her correspondence from the company.

What’s your experience of using the new Parkingeye app at the hospital? Get in touch on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

Call for lessons to be learned after Ripon mum dies from sepsis at Harrogate hospital

A Ripon family has called for lessons to be learned after a mother died from sepsis at Harrogate District Hospital.

Angela Laybourn was admitted to the hospital on January 17, 2022, after suffering from lack of appetite and dehydration for around a week.

Blood tests showed she had metabolic acidosis – a build-up of acid in the body. However, this was not documented when she was assessed on a ward, an NHS investigation found.

Ms Laybourn was wrongly sent home three days after being admitted. However, she was readmitted to Harrogate hospital on January 22. She was incoherent and disorientated.

Further blood tests indicating metabolic acidosis weren’t acted upon. She died aged 62 in the early hours of January 24.

Following Angela’s death, husband David, instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his wife’s care under Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

David, aged 64, has now joined his legal team at Irwin Mitchell in calling for lessons to be learned.

Megan Walker, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing David, said:

“Angela was a much-loved wife, mum and grandma, whose death has had a profound effect on all her family.

“Sadly, worrying issues in the care she received, and which contributed to her death, have been identified.

“While nothing can make up for what’s happened it’s now vital that the hospital trust learns lessons from the issues in this case to improve patient safety for others.

“We continue to support David and his family at this distressing time.”

Call for lessons to be learned

Ms Laybourn, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and was paralysed from the neck down, died in the early hours of 24 January, 2022, after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Her cause of death was sepsis and metabolic acidosis caused by kidney stones. 

She had a history of kidney stones. In December 2021 she underwent surgery to try and remove them. However, doctors were unable to remove all of the stones because of the complexity of the procedure.

Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, the trust admitted that there was a failure to recognise and treat metabolic acidosis following her first admission on January 17. She shouldn’t have been discharged on 20 January, the trust acknowledged.

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An internal investigation report by the hospital trust into Angela’s care identified a total of 18 key findings, root causes and contributory factors into her care.

These included that blood tests that showed metabolic acidosis following her initial hospital admission were not documented when Angela was assessed on a ward.

Mr Laybourn, who was Angela’s carer for 15 years, added: 

“The only way I could describe losing Angela was total devastation. As a family, we couldn’t believe that she was really gone. The grandchildren were knocked for six. Angela’s whole life was based around her grandkids and kids, everything she did was child orientated. She has been taken from all of us.

“The first time that I was aware that Angela had been suffering from metabolic acidosis, was when we received her death certificate. We searched online for the term and were just in complete shock as looking at the symptoms that Angela had they fit the box of metabolic acidosis.

“We just felt let down that no one had picked up on this and that Angela could have been treated for this.

“I miss her all the time. The loss of Angela has created an emptiness in my life which will never be filled. All I can hope for is that by speaking out improvements in care can be made as I wouldn’t want others to go through the pain our family is.”

Trust apologises

Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mrs Laybourn.

“We failed to deliver the level of care Mrs Laybourn and her family should have been able to expect and for this we would like to sincerely apologise.

“We are committed to learning from what has happened and are implementing new systems and processes to reduce the likelihood of important blood test results being missed to ensure we do all we can to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.”

Strikes cost Harrogate hospital £1.5m this year

Industrial action has cost the trust which runs Harrogate District Hospital £1.5 million in 2023.

The hospital has been hit by numerous strikes in the last 12 months, with consultants and junior doctors staging walkouts in disputes over pay.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the figure was an “unavoidable cost” as a result of the strikes.

The move comes as NHS England has told hospital trusts to reduce targets for routine care in order to pay for the industrial action.

National health officials have estimated that the 40 days worth of strike action has cost NHS trusts £1 billion.

In a letter signed by Julian Kelly, the chief financial officer for NHS England, and Steve Powis, the national medical director for NHS England, local trusts were told that elective surgery targets would be scaled back.

It said:

“For the remainder of the financial year our agreed priorities are to achieve financial balance, protect patient safety and prioritise emergency performance and capacity, while protecting urgent care, high priority elective and cancer care.”

Currently, Harrogate hospital has 822 people waiting more than 65 weeks for surgery. No patients are waiting longer than 78 weeks.

However, a spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Trust, told the Stray Ferret that it does not expect NHS England’s target adjustment to affect its plans to tackle waiting lists.

They said:

“NHS England’s decision to reduce the elective activity target for 2023/24 is not expected to have a significant impact at HDFT.

“At the start of 2023, we had 2,918 patients awaiting surgical treatment who would have waited 65 weeks or longer by the end of March 2024. This number had reduced to 822 patients by November 2023 and we are currently on track to ensure no patient will be waiting beyond 65 weeks by the end of March 2024.

“We will continue to focus on cancer pathways to ensure we are able to get to a diagnosis within 28 days from referral and provide treatment within 62 days.

“HDFT is committed to providing the best possible healthcare for our patients and to ensure they can be seen at the earliest opportunity.”

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Visitors barred from Harrogate hospital after ‘security incident’

Harrogate District Hospital suspended visiting yesterday due to a “security incident” in the car park.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust urged people not to visit the emergency department unless it was a severe illness or injury or a life threatening condition in a social media post yesterday evening. It said:

“We are aware of a security incident in the car park at Harrogate District Hospital and are working with the police who are in attendance.

“Please avoid our Emergency Department unless it’s a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.”

Officers from North Yorkshire Police attended the scene and resolved the situation. A police spokesperson said:

“We were called to Harrogate District Hospital at 3.40pm on Thursday following concerns raised about a patient’s car in the main hospital car park.

“Following enquiries, it was confirmed there was no risk to the hospital or the wider public and the matter was resolved without the need for evacuations of patients and staff.”

The hospital trust did not reveal further details of the incident and a spokesperson said they could not add any more detail to the police statement.

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