Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was formed in 2001 and gained Foundation Trust status in 2007. It runs four hospitals in Nottinghamshire - King’s Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital, Mansfield Community Hospital and Ashfield Health Village providing healthcare for about 420,000 people across north Nottinghamshire, as well as parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

A merger with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust was planned, and Peter Homa, Chief Executive of Nottingham took the same role at the trust, but Nottingham is refusing to accept responsibility for the trust's £2.5 billion private finance initiative contract. ^[1] In 2016 Homa stepped down from the job at Sherwood Forest and in November 2016 it was announced that the merger would not proceed.^[2]

Services

The Trust provides a comprehensive range of hospital and community services, including planned and emergency surgery, children’s services, obstetric and gynaecological care. The emergency department at King’s Mill Hospital treats critically ill patients to minor injuries and sees in excess of 110,000 patients every year. Newark Hospital has a minor injuries unit/urgent care centre which treats a range of conditions and is open 24 hours a day.

The children and young people’s service cares for patients and their families from birth until adulthood. Its 18-bed neonatal unit at King’s Mill Hospital provides high quality care with seamless antenatal to postnatal care for high risk infants. The unit is part of the Trent Neonatal Network and works closely with children’s services in Leicester and Nottingham. Each year the Trust sees more than 8,000 young patients in its outpatient clinics and more than 4,000 children in its community clinics. More than 3,000 patients are looked after on the children’s ward.

Each year the hospitals care for more than 39,000 inpatients; 29,000 day case patients; 411,000 outpatients and therapy patients; and more than 3,200 women give birth at its hospitals. More than 4,000 members of staff work across its hospitals, helped by almost 700 volunteers.

Finance

The Trust has a substantial PFI scheme. The £265 million scheme which will run for 30 years covers new buildings, refurbishments, facilities, services, equipment and capital investment equipment costs and will run until March 2043. The partners to the scheme are Innisfree Ltd, Skanska, and Medirest. ^[3] Total repayments under the contract will amount to £2.5 billion.^[4]

The Trust paid out £235,000 to two interim Chief Executives during 2012.^[5] Paul O'Connor, Chief Executive, resigned in April 2015 after less than 2 years in post. ^[6]

Performance

In July 2013 as a result of the Keogh Review the Trust was put into special measures by Monitor.^[7] In October 2013 it was put into the highest risk category by the Care Quality Commission.^[8] In October 2015 a further CQC report showed deterioration. Only one of 18 high level action points had been completed and it was rated inadequate for safety, effectiveness and being well-led. There were 54 serious incidents between March 2014 and February 2015 and 88 patients died of "unspecified septicaemia".^[9] Sir Mike Richards recommended that the trust stay in special measures in October 2015 after the CQC reduced its rating to “inadequate”. The regulators said the trust neededa “close tie-up with a long term partner” in order to improve.^[10]

In 2014/5 the trust was given a loan of £6.2 million by the Department of Health which is supposed to be paid back in five years.^[11]

See also

• List of NHS trusts

References