Time for the 'Trust' to admit it was wrong.

[SRMoore]

In an very worrying investigation by BBC Inside Out, the A&E department at North Tees has been shown to be unfit for purpose.
The investigation finds that it staff are rushed off their feet and that North Tees simply cannot handle the capacity that it is required to since the closure of Hartlepool A&E.

It's time for the 'Trust' and those clinicians involved in this farce to put their hands up, admit they were monumentally wrong and rectify the problem.   

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21057781

[steveL]

Can't see that happening, Shane. They will spin their way out of it.

I watched someone on the news today explaining their own hospital's high incidence of bed sores. The explanation? That the figures could be explained by her own hospital's particularly high diligence in recording such instances.

Perhaps we should make it clear theat the Inside Out Programme is on BBC1 tonight at 7:30

For those who missed it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q531h/Inside_Out_North_East_and_Cumbria_21_01_2013/

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Interesting programme ... was a bit strange to hear the views of the Hartlepudlian medic who preferred the non-local option for his family ...

[mk1]

Interesting programme ... was a bit strange to hear the views of the Hartlepudlian medic who preferred the non-local option for his family ...

Look up  'Judas Goat'?

[steveL]

Well I guess you don't get to be Clinical Director without kissing someone's butt....

I gather the same guy has represented the Trust at meetings with the council's Health and Scrutiny Forum where he has displayed the same habit of playing the 'I'm from Hartlepool' card, even to the point of over-doing it a bit. The Trust is so cynical I wouldn't be at all surprised if that is the prime reason for them  selecting him as a representative in the first place.

[Inspector Knacker]

A couple of points the programme raised really interested me. The first was that several hospitals north of the Tyne were losing their A&E departments  to be replaced by some super hostpital at Cramlington, however the existing hospital A&E depts would become minor  injury units within the hospitals, with access to other services on site.
So, why was the one life built  .......?  ..... it could have been accomodated into th existing A&E and saved a lot of money for a trust that's going on about savings ? ..... but that would have given the public hope it could  be restored some time in th future .... or is it that the hospital is for the chop completely and using the closed A&E  woldn't be an option?...... and thus there has been a very long term strategy to close the hospital ....?
A second point I find really iritating is the wheling out of the 'expert' who proceeds to tell us how complex medicine is today and it's best if it's all on one site........which leads me to  ask how many visits to an A&E require complex medical solutions ...? Is the service being reconfigured for the convenience of the users or the providers? ........ the average user user in Hartlepool has found theitr services more remote, how that is classed as a better service is beyond my comprehension.
A final note, why did they ask the employees their view of the service .......  what was the point? .....what did they they expect them to  say ........?

[testing times]

This all started in 2001/02 with a plan by the Trust to simply close Hartlepool Hospital and move everything to North Tees Hospital and this was long before the One Life centre was even thought about.
I spotted this on the Northern Echo site this morning - an extra £195,000 to be spent on North Tees hospital which is supposed to be getting demolished.

Across the country, the improvements will include new birthing pools, new midwife-led units and more en-suite facilities. More equipment like beds and family rooms units, that allow dads and families to stay overnight, will also be installed. Other improvements include equipment that gives women more freedom to move around and change position while in labour and facilities that allow women to choose if they want a bath or shower.
Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "We are now going to see huge improvements to maternity services right across the country - from birthing pools to family rooms and even new midwifery-led units. These will make a big difference to the experience mums and families have of NHS maternity services, with more choice and a better environment where women can give birth."Applications for funding have only been approved where there was evidence that local mums and dads wanted the changes. Bids were judged by a panel that included representatives from the Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.  The cash will go to: Sunderland Royal Hospital £39,000, Gateshead Health £374,000, Northumbria Healthcare £166,000, North Tees and Hartlepool £195,000, University Hospital of North Durham £45,000, South Tyneside District Hospital £266,760 and York Teaching Hospital £417,000.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10180760.Hospitals_to_share_in___1_5m_investment_in_maternity_facilities/?ref=rss

[Inspector Knacker]

Funny how we're now getting complaints of too many people using the A&E at North Tees. Sorry, but when you close down the neighbouring A&E what exactly did they think would happen. Which also begs the question that if at the end of your ambulance journey you end up parked up waiting treatment, all the bull about top treatment looks a bit hollow.

[craig finton]

So the idea is that if you survive the wait at One Life, the mis-diagnosis, the wait for an ambulance to appear, the 13 mile ambulance journey itself and then the wait in the ambulance/corridor before being seen ............ you will receive the best treatment available. No wonder the A&E at North Tees will be able to claim higher success figures ........ a good number of their more serious patients will probably have passed on well before they get anywhere near a doctor.