Dear colleague,
It has been eight months since I joined SaTH as Interim Chief Executive and it has, and will always remain, a privilege. I am really proud to be here, working alongside incredible teams doing some amazing things every day.
Kind and compassionate patient care is at our heart. I see this every day, alongside a real drive and determination to improve care, experience and access to our services for every patient, every time.
There is so much fantastic transformation happening – from the construction of new healthcare facilities and the advancement of our digital capability to the continuous improvement work that may not always be so visible, but which is just as valuable, and is happening every day across our hospitals.
Recently, we opened the first phase of our enhanced Emergency Department offering an improved majors’ area for our more poorly patients, powered through our first High Intensity Theatre (HIT) day successfully completing 11 hernia operations in a single day, reduced our overall elective care patient waiting list by thousands and made real improvement in our diagnostic delivery. You can read more in this edition.
We know our urgent and emergency care services remain in high demand, which makes it really challenging for our teams, but through our transformation plans we are seeing gradual improvements. You can read how we are reducing delays for our patients arriving by ambulance on page 4.
As an organisation, we are striving to be excellent for our patients. Our ambition is to provide exceptional care for every patient, every time. We also want to be a great place to work for all our staff, somewhere they feel they belong and can thrive.
Our Moving to Excellence programme is the golden thread that links all our transformation work –including education, quality, digital, hospitals transformation and finance. If we get this right, it will help us to realise our vision of excellent care for our communities.
The next 12 months will be challenging as we continue our focus on reducing waiting times whilst working within our financial envelope so we can achieve financial balance. You can read more about the work we are doing on page 20.
We are currently exploring the opportunity to form a Group model with our partners at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust. We believe this will mean better, more joined up care for our patients as well as a great working environment for our staff. Under the proposals, both Trusts would remain as separate statutory organisations with shared leadership.
This is a real opportunity for both organisations to accelerate the good work already happening and explore ways of further integrating services to benefit patients. It is early days, and we will continue to keep our communities updated.
Thank you.
Jo Williams, Chief Executive
IN THIS EDITION...
TRIALLING NEW WAYS OF WORKING
Page 4
REDUCING WAITS FOR PLANNED CARE
Page 6
IMPROVING ACCESS TO SCANS AND TESTS
Page 8
BECOMING A GREENER TRUST
Page 10
IMPROVING CARE FOR EVERYONE
Page 12
CREATING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Page 14
TRANSFORMING OUR DIGITAL CAPABILITY
Page 18
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
Page 20
TRIALLING NEW WAYS OF WORKING
We are trialling new ways of working to reduce the amount of time patients are waiting for urgent and emergency care.
Delivering a better patient journey and experience, and excellent care for everyone is part of our longterm plan by improving timely access to our urgent and emergency care services.
One area of focus has been on reducing ambulance handover times, so our patients are not delayed getting the assessment and treatment they need. It also means that ambulances can then be released to go back into the community.
Ambulance handover delays are a national challenge and we are working hard to make sure our patients who arrive by ambulance are having timely and safe transfers.
We have introduced a new Offload to Assess (OTA) service which is an important step forward in our commitment to patient safety and efficient emergency care. More than 400 patients have already been through this service and early indications are that it is making a positive difference to patient experience and health outcomes.
Having arrived by ambulance at one of our Emergency Departments, patients are transferred from the ambulance to an OTA bay inside the department. There they are assessed by a clinical team who can then carry out initial diagnostic tests if appropriate.
Natalie Rose, Emergency and Critical Care Matron, said: “The OTA service is transforming the way we manage ambulance handovers.
“Our aim is to triage patients within 15 minutes in line with national guidance. Early assessment means treatment starts sooner, which we know can significantly improve patient outcomes.
“We are continuing to embed the service and to listen to feedback, so we can learn and adapt and meet the needs of our patients.”
Dr Gordon Wood, Deputy Divisional Medical Director for Medicine and Emergency Care, said: “The launch of the Offload to Assess model marks an important operational improvement in how we manage ambulance arrivals.
“By providing a dedicated space for early assessment and treatment, we can speed up patient flow, reduce pressure on our Emergency Departments and ensure ambulance crews are released more quickly to respond to calls in the
community. This is a practical, team-led solution that supports safer, more efficient care across our urgent and emergency pathways.”
Daily learning sessions have shown that the service is improving the way patients flow through the department, enhancing clinical care and streamlining escalation processes whilst the service is developed further.
Did you know? To improve UEC patient experience, we are:
• Expanding Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC)
• Displaying waiting times in our Emergency Department waiting rooms
• Making progress on initial assessment
• Utilising a Care Transfer Hub to support discharge
• Maximising use of Frailty Assessment Units at RSH and PRH
REDUCING WAITS FOR PLANNED CARE
We have made significant progress on improving timely access to elective care - and our aim is for no patient to wait longer than 65 weeks for their procedures.
We also want to reduce wait times further, and one of the ways we plan to do this is by safely increasing the number of operations that can be scheduled in advance (planned surgery).
Elective recovery is a national challenge. Since the pandemic, the NHS has been working hard to reduce waits and treat the most clinically urgent cases. We are doing all we can to support our patients to have the care and operations they need as quickly as possible.
TO DATE...
In April, we increased the number of procedures that can be carried out by opening all elective theatres across our hospital sites and by working differently to increase efficiency.
This included increasing the number of paediatric theatre slots by 50% so children and young people can have their planned operations quicker. One of our priorities is to completely eradicate waits of more than 52 weeks for our younger patients by the end of June.
Our aim is for no patients to wait longer than 65 weeks for their procedure - with a reduction from 1,000 people since last summer.
Last summer, over 4,000 patients were waiting in excess of 52 weeks. We have more than halved those waits and now have approximately 1,500 people waiting.
Increasing theatre lists requires involvement of a number of teams across the organisation working collaboratively together. This includes bookings, pre-operative and surgical and ward teams.
Through our new Planned Care Hub at Princess Royal Hospital, we can deliver high volume, low complexity day case surgery. It is helping us
Last summer our total elective waiting list was in excess of 50,000. We have made significant progress and have reduced our waiting list to less than 43,000.
to reduce waiting times for patients requiring Gynaecology, Vascular, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic, Breast, Upper GI, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Maxillofacial procedures as well as general surgery.
Since the hub opened in June last year, we have treated nearly 5,000 patients.
“It is fantastic to see patients being well enough to go home on the same day they have their surgery as we know it is more beneficial for their recovery to be in their own environment and reduces the risk of infections. It also means we can increase the number of operations taking place, which reduces waiting times.”
Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer
Dr John Jones, Executive Medical Director
CASE STUDY: HIT
To support our elective recovery, our teams held their first High Intensity Theatres (HIT) list – and carried out 11 hernia day case procedures in a single day – surpassing the usual maximum of six to seven. This is believed to be the highest number of hernia operations in a single day at the Trust.
Through careful planning, the team developed a highly efficient and safe programme to increase the number of patients that could undergo day surgery for a hernia procedure.
Mr Saurav Chakravartty, Consultant Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon, said: “The HIT list involved considerable careful planning to see where we could streamline processes to make more time for the surgeon to operate. It showcased the ability of our staff to work together to deliver high quality care with a high level of efficiency and productivity.
“We operated safely within our usual resources, with one additional nurse, and we delivered what I believe to be the highest number of hernia cases in a single day within the Trust.”
CASE STUDY: FIRST SAME DAY HIP OPERATION
We have also reinstated elective orthopaedic joint replacement surgery at Telford, with some patients now able to go home the same day following their operations.
Thanks to improvements made nationally in joint surgery techniques and anaesthetics, our patients have been able to walk within hours of surgery and have been discharged the day after, whereas previously most patients stayed in hospital an average of four days.
If patients are able to leave sooner, it is much better for their ongoing recovery and it also means we can increase the number of operations we carry out. Our teams have successfully enabled three knee
patients to go home on the same day as having their operation.
Our elective orthopaedic teams have also achieved another first – with a patient able to go home the same day as having their hip operation.
Trudy Hurst, Musculoskeletal Services Matron, said: “This has been a great result for our teams and is a huge step forward as we remember the days when hip patients stayed in for two weeks with full hip precautions post-surgery.
“It is a brilliant example of co-ordinated teamwork to provide excellence-focused care for our orthopaedic patients.”
IMPROVING ACCESS TO SCANS AND TESTS
One of our priorities is to ensure that our patients have access to the tests and scans they need as quickly as possible.
Diagnostic tests help to determine the presence and severity of a medical condition; they also inform clinicians of the best course of treatment. The tests can be urgent or routine and range from simple blood tests to complex imaging scans.
We are working really hard to ensure that patients are not waiting more than six weeks for the tests they need, in line with national guidance.
We have invested in improving urgent and nonurgent access to tests, including opening a Community Diagnostic Centre in Telford, as well as a new gamma camera and additional MRI scanner at our hospitals. A new Linac bunker is also being built and will be operational by the end of the summer.
As a result, we are seeing improved access to diagnostic tests:
• We have seen an increase in performance in MRI, non-obstetric ultrasound (NOUS), flexi sigmoidoscopy (colon), cystoscopy (bladder) and gastroscopy (oesophagus/stomach)
• Last summer over 2,500 patients were waiting in excess of 13 weeks for their diagnostic test – now it is less than 1,000
• The proportion of patients waiting less than six weeks has also improved significantly from 53.6% in December to 71.6% in February, with further improvements made in March to 77%
Investment in scanning is supporting our elective recovery programme, so we can improve our referral to treatment standard of 18 weeks as well as our Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) performance, which aims for a cancer to be ruled out or a diagnosis made within 28 days.
The nuclear medicine gamma camera at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has increased capacity for urgent scans. The camera is used to detect cancer, paediatric conditions and other acute conditions, and will produce better quality images.
Courtney Hudson, Acting Lead Superintendent Radiographer, said: “The camera offers a special function, which means that patients can be scanned without the need for an injection of a radioactive isotope.
“The modern surroundings of the Evolution Scanning Suite also create a better environment for both colleagues and patients, which leads to an improved hospital experience for our patients.”
Since it was installed last summer, the number of patients scanned increased from an average of 5.25 to 6.1 per day.
The Community Diagnostic Centre at Hollinswood House in Telford supports patients who need nonurgent diagnostic tests. Services include CT scans, X-ray, MRI scans, teledermatology (pictures of skin conditions), NOUS and phlebotomy. This means patients don’t need to attend hospital and can have the care they need closer to home.
13,663 APPOINTMENTS
786 CT SCANS
420 MRI SCANS
8,432 OUTPATIENT BLOOD TESTS
15,375 SPECIMEN TESTS
In the last 12 months there has been a significant increase in referrals for both CT and MRI scans. This impacted on the reporting of scans within national guidance with some patients waiting longer than the Trust would like.
A CT and MRI reporting recovery plan was implemented at the end of 2024 with additional scans being outsourced, alongside some local initiatives.
Urgent scans, including cancer staging/monitoring scans, are now being reported within two weeks
and the backlog of routine reporting has been removed, as a result of additional support.
This is positive news for our patients and has been achieved due to the commitment and hard work of our teams, and with the support of the Trust’s partners.
Anna Martin, Divisional Director of Operations for Clinical Support Services, said: “Our focus remains on our recovery programmes and sustaining the improvements we are making to ensure our patients are having the tests and scans they need at the right time.”
“We are committed to improving access for all our patients so they can have earlier diagnosis and treatment. There have been some challenges due to a significant increase in referrals and some patients were waiting longer than we would have liked. However, thanks to the commitment and hard work of our teams, and with the support of our partners, we are making really positive progress.”
Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer
BECOMING A GREENER TRUST
We want to reduce our impact on the environment and a number of exciting projects are taking place to make our hospital sites greener and more energy efficient.
Over £17 million of funding has been secured for various projects, including a new Energy Centre, solar panels and associated schemes, as well as new insulation measures.
These greener hospital projects will enable the Trust to provide sustainable health services and more modern facilities.
They will benefit our patients and staff by improving air quality, reducing our environmental impact and promoting healthier and more sustainable care practices – which will ultimately lead to better health outcomes and experiences.
Work has started on a new Energy Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) with the current ageing heating infrastructure being replaced and upgraded with modern and more sustainable energy sources. Heat pump technologies will be installed, providing low carbon heating, hot water and chilled water to buildings across the hospital site. This will enable the Trust to remove the old steam boilers and associated gas-fired equipment and fully “desteam” the hospital estate.
The Trust has also secured grants to fund a range of energy conservation measures which will reduce the site’s energy consumption. These include solar panels for available roof spaces, a solar car park canopy, upgrades of roof and pipework insulation and the replacement of air handling fans unit with low energy systems.
When the work is complete the investment will save the Trust an estimated £1m a year in energy costs and will reduce emissions by over 3,000 tonnes of carbon each year.
It will support the Trust’s Estates decarbonisation Strategies, Green Plan and national NHS ambitions of reaching net zero by 2040.
Other cost saving measures to help us on our journey to environmental sustainability include LED lighting, recycling, increasing the number of electric vehicle charging points and working with partners on greener travel options.
A grant of £300,000 was also awarded for work at RSH, for solar panels on the Copthorne Building, SaTH Education Research and Improvement Institute and the renal and admin hub, as well as replacement LED lighting.
The Trust is also exploring schemes to install solar panels and LED lighting at Princess Royal Hospital.
Shona Baugh, the Trust’s Estates Sustainability Lead, said: “We are immensely proud of our sustainability programme. We aim to create sustainable value with everything we do, together with our staff, partners and stakeholders.”
“This major investment in renewable energy generation creates fantastic opportunities for our Trust. The funding will deliver significant reductions in our energy costs and savings can then be redirected into frontline care.”
Inese Robotham, Assistant Chief Executive and Chair of the Trust’s Climate
Goup
OTHER MEASURES TO SUPPORT
GREENER WAYS OF WORKING
Recycling
We are implementing recycling in all areas, both clinical and non-clinical. A phased rollout has begun with all non-clinical areas and satellite sites, such as Queensway and Severnfields, moving across first, before switching to clinical areas.
As part of the roll out, ‘recycling stations’ comprising of general waste, mixed recycling and non-confidential paper/card will be in place. Staff will be required to take their waste to the ‘station’ and place in the appropriate bin.
LED lighting
We are upgrading LED lighting at PRH, RSH, William Farr House and Douglas Court at Shrewsbury Business Park. This includes daylight harvesting sensors for energy saving where appropriate.
Replacing the lighting in William Farr House and Douglas Court will reduce the Trust’s energy bills by around £37,000 a year.
Upholstered furniture repair
A three-month trial has started to undertake minor repairs on upholstered furniture to ensure IPC compliance and reduce waste.
Warp-it
Warp-it is a furniture recycling scheme to exchange unwanted items across the Trust, reducing waste and saving more than £80,000 in one year.
Reducing single use plastics
Creating habitats and environments for wildlife
IMPROVING CARE FOR EVERYONE
As part of our exciting plans to improve care for all our communities, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital site is undergoing significant transformation.
The photo shows how work is progressing on the development of our new healthcare facilities, including a modern emergency care centre, which is due to be completed in 2028.
It is part of the Hospitals Transformation Programme (HTP) which, when complete, will support our ambition of providing two thriving hospitals and excellent care for every patient, every time.
Princess Royal Hospital will become the site specialising in planned care where patients will have excellent experience in dedicated facilities, including the new £24 million Planned Care Hub.
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will become the site specialising in emergency care and will bring all the clinical teams who support the emergency care pathways, on the same site as the Emergency Department. This will contribute to more robust and timely clinical decision-making.
Most patients will be able to continue to use our services at their local hospital. This includes attending urgent treatment centres, outpatients and diagnostics.
As part of our plans to create the dedicated emergency centre at RSH, work to modernise and redesign the Emergency Department (ED) is well under way, with the first phase now operational.
This will provide an improved working environment and give the clinical teams the space they need to continue to make improvements and provide a positive urgent and emergency care experience for every patient.
The enhanced facilities include larger, purposebuilt resuscitation bays and a new majors’ area with larger cubicles and improved patient visibility through a new staff base. A walk-through tour of the new healthcare facilities explains what patients can expect.
“The new ED facilities and environment will provide a more positive experience for staff within the department and the most unwell patients we care for. This is so much more than building works, this is about fundamentally improving care for all our patients through faster access to the right care and at the right time. Each milestone we hit brings us one step closer to making our vision of two thriving hospitals a reality.”
Rysdale, HTP
CREATING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
We are investing in providing a safe, supportive and inclusive workplace for our staff so we can deliver the best care for our patients.
Our ambition is to be an organisation that delivers excellent care, and as part of our journey to excellence, we are focused on transforming the working environment for our staff.
We want SaTH to be a great place to work, where staff feel valued and proud. We are creating a culture that is positive, compassionate, and inclusive.
We are focusing on cultural improvements which
we are measuring across the NHS People Promise elements and themes as part of the annual NHS Staff Survey.
The NHS People Promise is about working together to improve the work life of everyone in the NHS. Its themes were created by those who work in the NHS based on what they said mattered the most to them - with the Staff Survey the principal way to measure progress.
SPOTLIGHT ON: MEDICINE AND EMERGENCY CARE
The Medicine and Emergency Care (MEC) Staff Survey results show real progress with a big jump in response rates (36.7%) and year-on-year improvements across all key areas. More colleagues feel positive about recommending the Trust and the care provided.
Improvements include reducing missed breaks, supporting colleagues after tough shifts and improving shift fairness. There’s also a push for stronger teamwork, better communication and a more inclusive culture, backed by initiatives like zero-tolerance policies and leadership programmes.
OUR FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES AND IMPROVEMENTS
A civility, respect and inclusion programme
• 1,300 colleagues have attended sessions
• We are a Disability Confident Leader
• We signed the Sexual Safety Charter
• We launched a Multifaith and Belief Network
• 500 colleagues are part of our staff networks
A new appraisal process (Talent Conversations)
• We improved our Talent Conversation process
• We launched our Talent Portal
• We added Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) objectives
• We launched Career Conversations
Increased flexible working opportunities
• 85% of flexible working requests were approved between January 2024 and March 2025
• We launched flexible working masterclasses and flexible working toolkits
• We are now sharing our approach with other trusts
• We include flexible working option within our recruitment packs. 37.8% of our jobs were advertised with flexibility
“The 2024 Staff Survey results show that we are making progress. We will continue to focus on staff morale and improve our health and wellbeing support including recognising and rewarding our colleagues, through a new bimonthly awards scheme. We will continue to improve our health and wellbeing support with the launch of a new menopause support offer, as well as focus on staff morale.”
Emma Wilkins, Deputy People Director
WE WORK FLEXIBLY: SPOTLIGHT ON THE NEONATAL UNIT
The Neonatal Unit has embraced a new flexible way of working since Corrine Dacosta started as ward manager. In the Staff Survey 2024 results, the unit saw an increase in their ‘We work flexibly’ score. This was the highest improvement for a clinical area.
The unit also saw similar improvements in their Staff Engagement and Morale scores, with the biggest improvements in colleagues feeling more involved and fewer thinking about leaving.
Over the last year Corrine has implemented a new method to ensure flexible working requests were met. The team has trialled self-rostering. Team members are free to add the shifts that they can, or want to do, as well as the shifts that they cannot do onto a rota.
Corrine then reviews all of the requests and creates the final rota. Whilst it can be difficult at times to support all requests, any issues are usually resolved by having open and honest conversations about flexible working and ensuring that all of her team know that keeping the area safe is the priority.
• Over 75% of the team have said they are ‘very satisfied or satisfied’ with their roster
• Over 75%, when asked ‘do you feel that teambased rostering provides you with a roster to support home/work life balance?’, answered ‘all the time or majority of the time’
• 100% of colleagues would be happy to swap duties to assist a colleague with their work/life balance
• 95% of colleagues feel they could continue to use team-based rostering.
“We want SaTH to be an organisation that every colleague feels proud to work at – a Trust that provides a supportive working environment where you know you are making a real difference. Change takes time, but together we can all make SaTH a better place to work and receive care.”
Kara Blackwell, Deputy Chief Nurse
WE ARE COMPASSIONATE AND INCLUSIVE: SPOTLIGHT ON MENOPAUSE SUPPORT
Women make up 76% of the workforce and their dedication, expertise and leadership are the backbone of our Trust.
Following feedback, a comprehensive menopause support programme for staff has been launched. This includes new menopause cafes, walks, a toolkit for colleagues and managers, an education programme every month and advocates to ensure the programme is embedded successfully.
Angela Loughlin, Patient Experience Manager, has been involved in setting up the support programme. Angela said: “Perimenopause hit me four years ago, although I didn’t recognise it then. It wasn’t spoken about like it is now. I had no idea what was wrong with me, I was forgetful
and anxious. It was when a colleague asked me if I was ok, and we talked, that the penny suddenly dropped.
“The following six months were horrific. I went from being a confident manager, knowing my job and my goals and delivering training sessions, to a very anxious person, not knowing what to do and even not wanting to be in the office.
“I went on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and pieced my life back together slowly. It took a while. If a support package at work had been in place then, that would have been amazing. For me, peer support, exercise and education have been invaluable to my journey, and the new support programme offers all three.”
TRANSFORMING OUR DIGITAL CAPABILITY
Transforming our digital capability will ensure that our clinical teams can deliver excellent care for patients through more modern systems.
The Trust is undergoing a multi-million-pound upgrade of its digital systems which involves transferring patient information to a new Electronic Patient Record (EPR).
CareFlow PAS, a new Patient Administration System, the first phase of it, was rolled out in April last year. Now CareFlow PAS is in place, it paves the way for other exciting and innovative upgrades to be implemented across the Trust.
The new Electronic Patient Record will modernise how patients’ medical notes are stored and accessed and support more integrated working between staff at SaTH and health and care partners such as GPs.
This includes the launch of electronic observations in the paediatric departments and contributes to safer, more efficient care for young patients at a vulnerable time.
The next steps on the digital transformation journey include rolling out further upgrades over the next 12 months. These include:
ICE Order Comms
The roll-out will significantly reduce paper requesting in radiology and pathology, decreasing the time it takes to process requests for tests and scans.
Patient Portal
A platform that will allow patients to view their letters electronically, meaning a significant reduction in printing and postage costs.
Clinical Narrative Function
The development of further electronic forms within CareFlow, starting with a pilot in our Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) departments.
Value for patients NEXT STEPS
As well as modernising medical records, the introduction of EPR has also released funding that was previously used for printing paper forms. This is being reinvested into other areas of care – adding value for patients.
One example is the savings made from the launch of the Digital eCAS card, which is used in the Emergency Departments (EDs). A CAS card is a record of the patient journey whilst they are in ED. It is estimated that the cost of CAS paper cards per year was approximately £97,000 (2023/24) but by making them electronic, this funding is now being reinvested into patient care.
OUR CYBER SECURITY TEAM
They are the eyes and ears - policing and protecting SaTH’s digital systems against cyber security threats.
The Trust’s cyber security team works collaboratively to ensure IT systems, devices and infrastructure are secure, so services and patient data remain safe.
The NHS depends on computers for accessing and updating patient data and using medical devices –so the team is critical to patient safety.
Working behind the scenes, they undertake daily cyber checks monitoring for security threats and vulnerabilities and manage incidents in line with national guidance.
Most recently, the team introduced a system known as multi factor authentication (MFA) which was rolled out across the NHS for email accounts. This has reduced occurences of suspected email
breaches from happening. John Cuningham, Head of Digital Service Delivery, said: “The cyber security landscape is changing hour by hour, given the international conflicts as well as national cyber threats.
“It’s a time where we all need to be extra vigilant. We are working collaboratively with NHS England, our Integrated Care System (ICS) colleagues and teams across SaTH to promote cyber security, what to look for, what to do, who to contact.
“I’m proud to be able to report key deliverables, such as a reduction of weak passwords from 20% to less than 1%. It’s a great position to be in and a testament to the work of multiple digital teams to deliver such critical security and compliance projects.”
“Modernising and strengthening our digital systems will support us on our journey to excellence and ensure that every patient has a positive experience. By providing the right information to the right people at the right time, it means clinicians can focus on delivering safe, effective and high-quality patient care.
“We are working with our teams as we continue to further develop our capability, and we will keep our communities updated on our progress and what this means for them.”
Nigel Lee, Director of Strategy and Partnerships
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
We are striving to achieve financial balance as part of our journey to provide excellent care for our communities.
Being financially sustainable means we will have the opportunity to re-invest further in patient care, staff, estates and equipment.
In 2025/26, our focus is on delivering high-quality, safe care and reducing patient waiting times whilst living within an agreed budget, and making every penny count so we are delivering value for our patients and tax-payers.
In addition to our budget allocation, we have agreed a deficit with NHS England of £45.1m for 2025/26 as well as a Cost Improvement Programme (CIP) of £41.4m of savings.
The CIP is a core part of our Operational Plan and sets out the level of efficiency savings we need to achieve to re-invest in our services.
This will be a challenging year for the NHS, so we have been looking at new ways of working as well as continuing with our transformation plans so we can build a modern NHS.
This includes realising our hospitals transformation and digital programmes, improving our performance, modernising our ways of working and ensuring we are continually reviewing our workforce, so we have the right staff, with the right skills in the right places.
We made positive progress in 2024/25, particularly on reducing spend on agency staff.
We also delivered £34.3m of efficiency savings, which was nearly double what we achieved in 2023/24.
This year we are determined to build on that momentum by looking for opportunities to reform and remove waste so we can become more efficient, challenge every pound we are spending and continue our transformation work to deliver excellent care.
This work is being led by our Financial Recovery Taskforce made up of representation from our clinical, operational and financial leads who have the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding of the organisation, to support the delivery of improvement in quality, performance and productivity, as well as financial spend.
Our teams are also supporting us to reduce our non-pay spend by sharing their ideas about what we can do differently and more efficiently in their areas of expertise. They are doing this through a new Transformation Forum, which is reviewing ideas, with some suggestions already put into action.
Kara Blackwell, Deputy Chief Nurse, said: “We have a responsibility to achieve financial stability whilst delivering the best, safest care for our patients and value for money for taxpayers.
“We will not compromise on patient safety and will continue to work with our staff to listen to their ideas of supporting new ways of working that will improve care for patients within our agreed budgets.”
“Our story is changing and we are starting to move away from being a Trust with a significant deficit. We have a plan and we are working towards delivering financial balance in the coming years. This will be challenging, but it is the right thing to do for our patients and for our taxpayers.”
Adam Winstanley, Acting Director of Finance
SPOTLIGHT ON: ORAL PARACETAMOL
PRESCRIPTION
Clinicians are now prescribing oral paracetamol in place of intravenous (IV) paracetamol for some surgical procedures.
Oral paracetamol is a less invasive form of pain control which has proven to be equally as effective as IV, whilst also helping to make significant cost and waste savings.
It is being used for all types of surgical procedures in the Planned Care Hub in Telford. It could save £10,000 and 1,500kg in carbon emissions per year.
A group of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses at the Trust, including Dr Vivek Eli, Consultant Anaesthetist and Ms Blossom Lake, Breast Surgical Specialist, led the quality improvement project.
Vivek said: “Paracetamol is one of the most widely prescribed drugs and many studies have shown that it is equally as effective when given orally compared to the intravenous route, with no adverse impact on patients.”
Blossom said: “Using paracetamol in this way can reduce the amount of waste we produce and save our hospitals money at the same time. There is a lot of nonrecyclable plastic packaging for IV paracetamol compared with oral paracetamol, where one small blister pack contains multiple doses.”
Dr Thasban Bhatt, one of the doctors leading the initiative, presented the results at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.
He said: “The feedback we have received from peers has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive.”
DID YOU KNOW?
• We have reduced our spend on agency staff by 60%
• We have rolled out a new Inventory Management System to improve stock tracking and reduce waste with phase one now under way. This is expected to save £3 million over the next five years
• We are replacing paper towels with hand dryers in our public toilets. 261 paper towels cost £1 compared to 40,000 dries on average for every £1 spent on electricity
• We are now able to use our new SaTH Education, Research and Improvement Institute for room hire, saving £15,000 a month on external bookings.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Volunteer drivers are taking patients home when they are discharged from hospital as part of a new trial. It means patients who may not be eligible for patient transport or have long waits for collection can get home quicker. Would you like to volunteer? Visit the website
• We gift knitted and crocheted hearts to patients who are receiving last days and hours of end of life care, and their loved ones as a poignant keepsake.
• Our singing chaplain is helping patients to get up and get moving to support their recovery.
Thank you for reading about the improvements we are making for our patients and our staff.
We would really welcome your feedback on what you think of Impact and what would like to see in future editions.
Please contact sath.commsteam@nhs.net