New bosses 'confident' King's Lynn hospital will improve
Members of the new management team at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital have said they are "determined" to get it out of special measures.
Speaking to the Lynn News yesterday, chief executive Caroline Shaw and trust chairman Professor Steve Barnett said they are "really confident" they will turn things around.
Mrs Shaw, who started in her role last month, said her first impressions have been that patients and staff are "truly lovely".
She said: "There’s a real love and passion with the people who work here have - they want to make a difference and make it good for our patients. For me, that’s so important, you don’t get that at every hospital in the UK."
Mrs Shaw said among their main priorities for the hospital are staff engagement, strengthening leadership and ensuring it is safe and viable.
"We have got a huge challenge, like a lot of hospitals in the UK, in recruiting and retaining nurses and medical staff," she said.
"We are slightly more challenged in our location, as we have to make it a place where people want to come and work."
They are now thinking of "different ways" to attract people into positions at the QEH, including working with schools and colleges.
Mr Barnett, who took up his position in November, said although Lynn does not have the same "pull factor" as cities in the UK, highlighting the opportunities and positive aspects of West Norfolk to potential recruits and current staff is imperative.
Understanding the reasons why people are leaving their jobs at the hospital and supporting staff will also help with this issue, the pair said.
Mrs Shaw said, despite the challenges, the number of nurse vacancies is going down.
In terms of the hospital's most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report from September, which put it into special measures, Mr Barnett said it "did not make for happy reading", but he believes when the QEH has its next inspection, due early next month, they can point to "many improvements".
Mr Barnett said: "It's still too early for Caroline and myself to gauge when we will be coming out of special measures, but we are absolutely committed and determined to get out of special measures, just as soon as we can."
He added: "Our ambition is to make the QEH everything that a first class district general hospital should look like, providing a whole range of services."
Mr Barnett said there will "always" be a hospital in Lynn, despite speculation otherwise.
He added: "The thing that really struck me is that this hospital is almost the centre of this community.
"It’s important to employment and health and wellbeing. There’s a sense of pride in the local community about this organisation."
