Productivity - to ensure we make the best use of people and our physical and financial resources
New Royal update – both bidders’ plans shared with staff Left to right: Tony Bell, chief executive, Judith Greensmith, chairman, Andrew Lansley, secretary of state for health, Peter Williams, director of medicine
Secretary of state for health, Andrew Lansley, visits the Royal The secretary of state for health, the Rt Hon Andrew Lansley, CBE MP, visited the Royal at the end of May to see the work we have been doing to improve patient care, in conjunction with Liverpool Community Health (LCH) NHS Trust.
of our Medworxx computer system, which helps identify any delays in treatment or discharge. We are the first trust in the UK to use this system, which helps prevent people from spending any longer than they need to in hospital.
It’s the second visit Mr Lansley has made to the Royal in two years, having visited us in June 2010, a week after he confirmed that plans for the new Royal would go ahead. During the visit, Mr Lansley took the time to discuss and view plans from both bidders for the new Royal, and reaffirmed his commitment to the project.
Mr Lansley said: “Thanks to the work being done by the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Liverpool Community Health, people in Liverpool are getting the right care in the right place from the right people, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions and ensuring people don’t have to stay in hospital longer than they need to. This is a really positive example of the NHS working together to improve the experience patients have.”
We have been working together with Liverpool Community Health to prevent unnecessary admissions to acute hospital beds, ensure patients are treated in the right place by the right people and prevent people from staying in hospital longer than they need to. This has included opening a community integrated discharge unit at the Royal, staffed by Liverpool Community Health nurses. Following hospital care, patients are moved to this unit, where staff work to get them discharged back into the community, where their care can continue if necessary.
Our chief executive, Tony Bell, said: “We are very proud of the work we have done here at the Royal to enhance the care of our patients. We have already demonstrated real improvements to the experience of our patients with this project and this is an innovative example of community and hospital care working together.”
Advanced nurse practitioners from Liverpool Community Health are also working seven days a week within the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) at the Royal. Working with the AMU and clinical gerontologists, they are preventing unnecessary admissions into hospital, with patients seeing appropriate specialists quicker. As part of this, AMU has been refurbished and redesigned. Mr Lansley met doctors and nurses from both trusts, visited the Integrated Discharge Unit, the Acute Medical Unit and the Emergency Department where he heard more about the work we have been doing. He also saw a demonstration
We have continued to work with the two bidders, Carillion and Horizon, to develop their proposals for our new hospital. To share both bidders’ exciting proposals with our staff, two separate open days were held at the beginning of July at the Royal. Each bidder showcased artist’s impressions, videos, scale models, floor plans and even material samples. Members of the bidding teams were also on hand to talk through their plans with staff members and answer any questions. The events proved to be extremely popular with hundreds of staff dropping by throughout the days and feedback received indicated that staff were very impressed by both proposals with comments made mainly around single rooms, therapies and capacity. Three representatives from the Liverpool Local Involvement Network (LINk) participated in the events. All three were very impressed with what they saw and are very keen to work with us going forward. In tandem with development of the bidders’ proposals, a draft appointment business case (DABC) has been developed which sets out the case of need for the new hospital. This has been reviewed and supported/approved by local Primary Care Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Group (CCGs) Sub-Committees and their Cluster Board, and the North of England Commissioning Group (the organisation responsible for commissioning specialist services) during March, April, May and June. Now that these approvals have been received, approval by NHS North of England is expected within the coming weeks, with Department of Health approval and referral to Treasury expected to follow by autumn.
Andrew Lansley speaking with the Major Trauma Team
For further information on the new Royal project, please contact the Project Office via email at projectoffice@rlbuht.nhs.uk or call 0151 706 5769.
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