LORD Carter, the man charged with reviewing NHS efficiency, praised the leadership of Basildon University Hospital during a visit yesterday (October 19).
Lord Carter published an initial report for the Department of Health in the summer which challenged the NHS to make £5bn savings by 2019/20 by improving efficiency in workforce management, medicines, estates and procurement.
He is due in the coming weeks to publish details of work he has been doing with a number of NHS trusts to identify potential savings which could be made across the sector. He is also expected to release details of a method which will allow comparisons between overall productivity and efficiency at different hospitals.
Lord Carter visited Basildon Hospital following an invitation by Dr Qaiser Malik, lead consultant radiologist, and met with senior managers including chief executive Clare Panniker.
Following the visit, Lord Carter, said: “I was impressed by the leadership at the Trust and how people here understand the challenge ahead. This is a very challenging time for the NHS with the need to maintain quality and deliver great care but at the same time use resources efficiently. We had a constructive debate about the big issues.”
"It is just over a year since Basildon Hospital was taken out of special measures following a „good‟ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which regulates the NHS. In August this year, the CQC gave the hospital its second successive „good‟ rating after a follow-up inspection.
Lord Carter added: “As part of my review I like to get out on an informal basis to see what‟s going on in hospitals. Given Basildon‟s recovery and what has been achieved, it‟s an interesting story. It‟s always good to hear about successful hospitals.”
Dr Malik said: “It was a pleasure to host Lord Carter. We spoke to him about some of the really positive work we have been doing at the Trust to improve efficiency and make savings – whilst still focussing on delivering high quality care.”
