State ments from stakeholders

We w ill continue to analyse the environmental, social and economic impacts of our activities; covering the three approved global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission scope protocols (scopes one, tw o and three) w ith the aim of fully embedding sustainability themes, throughout the w hole organisation in compliance w ith the target set by the Climate Change Act (2008), Net Zero by the year 2045 and to fulfil our moral responsibilities of ensuring a better environment for future generations.

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State ments from stakeholders

State ment from West Es sex Clinical Com missioning Group and Eas t and North He rtfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group

West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group are responsible for the commissioning of acute health services from The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust for the citizens of w est Essex and east and north Hertfordshire. Both West Essex and East and North Hertfordshire CCGs w ould like to commend and thank all the staff and volunteers that w ork for The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in relation to their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff responded w ith professionalism, energy and adaptability. Their teamw ork and continued energy has enabled the care of patients to continue during the challenging time of the pandemic. The production of this year’s Quality Account has been challenging for all providers, the Department of Health and Social care considered an extension to the publication deadline of 30.06.21 (a significant extension w as enabled in 2020), how ever confirmation w as received in May that there w ould not be an extension this year. The trust has identified eight priorities for 2021/22 that are fundamental elements of their five P strategy: our patients, our people, our performance, our places and our pounds. This includes continuing the w ork to reduce the mortality rate and to support staff affected by their experiences during the pandemic and improve w ellbeing. All priorities that w ere not fully achieved last year have been extended into 2021/22. These priorities w ill be monitored through the PAHT Quality and Safety Committee. During the last year, PAHT has faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic; very unw ell patients, changes to w ard locations due to infection , prevention and control requirements, staff w orking in full PPE, increased admissions of patients requiring higher levels of care than usual, redeployment of staff to intensive care and high dependency units, maintaining care services throughout. All staff have had to w ork differently and adapt to an ever-changing position w ith differing requirements for the management and testing of patients. Support mechanisms for staff are in place and w ill continue into the next year. The trust has w orked w ith partners w ithin the local health economy, independent sector hospitals, to continue the surgical care of patients w ith cancer. Unfortunately, the pandemic affected PAHT’s ability to achieve the requirement to treat 85% of patients w ith cancer w ithin 62 days; how ever there are plans in place to improve the position and treat patients quickly as capacity increases.

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The trust has reported against last year’s quality priorities (2020/21), it is clear from the narrative w hether these priorities w ere fully achieved or not. Those not fully achieved have been rolled over to continue into 2021/22, it is clear that all priorities have been affected by the pandemic. The trust has provided a full and transparent account of the CQC inspections they have had in year, w hat this has meant for services and how concerns are being addressed. The trust has identified many departments and speciality teams w ithin w hich improvements have been made in the last year, notably the w ork of: the infection control team and their w ork during the pandemic to support patients and staff, the teams caring for patients w ith dementia, case studies in relation to learning from complaints and the w ide ranging and constructive w ork of the Patient Panel, w ho have continued to w ork together virtually throughout the year. The integrated w orking w ith staff and the high esteem w ith w hich the Patient Panel are view ed is very clear in the Quality Account. Maternity services have been the focus of national scrutiny follow ing the publication of the Ockenden report. PAHT has responded to the requirements of the report and is actively w orking to improve services for w omen and their families. The trust is part of the Local Maternity and Neonatal Service netw ork (LMNS) w ith acute trusts in Hertfordshire – best practice and learning from clinical incidents is shared across the LMNS. In year, the trust has invited peer review of some maternity incidents, to ensure that an external view is part of the investigation, this demonstrates a transparent approach to learning and improvement. The peer review identified a significant amount of good practice and made recommendations for changes w hich are being taken forw ard by the teams. We confirm that w e have review ed the information contained w ithin the Account and checked this against data sources w here these are available and it is accurate in relation to the services provided. Some of the data that is required to be included for example, a comparison of the trust results to the highest and low est scores of other organisations has not been included, w e expect this w ill be addressed in the final version.* The draft has some missing information (audit data, statement from the CEO) w e understand that this w ill be updated in the final version. We have review ed the content of the Account; it complies, on the w hole, w ith the prescribed information as set out in legislation and by the Department of Health and Social care. We believe that the Account is a fair, representative and balanced overview of the quality of care at the trust. We w ill continue to collaborate w ith and support the trust to achieve good quality care and treatment for the people of w est Essex and east and north Hertfordshire. The CCGs w ould like to extend their thanks to all the staff at The Princess Alexandra NHS Hospital for their dedication and commitment to the people they care for and how they have provided compassionate, supportive care to people through the pandemic.

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