New chief of UHD to focus on patient safety

But Siobhan Harrington, the chief executive of University Hospitals Dorset, declined to be drawn publicly on whether nurses' pay was fair.

Instead she paid tribute to all staff in the health service.

Last week delegates at the Royal College of Nursing Congress were told that staff vacancies nationally were on the rise, patient safety was at risk and fair pay for nursing staff had "never been more important."

Speaking at the beginning of her second week in post, Ms Harrington told the Echo: "Public sector pay is complicated, but if I was totally responsible for it, I would pay all health workers a lot more money."

And on patient safety she said: "Keeping patients safe is what we are here for and we always have to be focussed on that. It is always potentially at risk in any part of the country. We will continue to learn where things are not right."

When the Echo interviewed health secretary, Sajid Javid, earlier this year he refused to say if he thought the cost of living crisis was also a health crisis.

But Ms Harrington said: "It has the potential to impact on every part of society and is bound to have an impact on people's health.

"As a nurse myself, I am very focussed on the health of the population in any area and the health inequalities in the community."

Many lower-paid public sector workers including in the NHS, are having to use foodbanks as they struggle with rocketing fuel, energy and shopping bills.

A number of hospital trusts have set up their own foodbanks. UHD is not one of them but is launching initiatives to help and support staff.

Mrs Harrington's previous job was chief executive of the Whittington Hospital Trust in North Central London covering five local authority areas.

"We were hit pretty harshly by the pandemic. It was really, really, difficult. But now is a good time for us to reset and recalibrate and really focus on our staff whose health and wellbeing is really important.

"I will keep the staff central to what we are doing here. Yes, there are long waiting times but we all come to work to make things better. It is difficult. I am not going to underestimate the challenge but the NHS has the ability to respond."

During staff engagement sessions last week, she asked around 200 staff how the trust organisation could do more to support them and carried out an online morale survey, based on 0-10

"For most staff it was 7/10. I have seen worse in lots of places I've been. It was like a snapshot temperature check on one group of people but we have to be mindful that some people are still struggling.

"People are tired, have been tired, but I sense energy and enthusiasm here.

"We will get UHD where everybody wants it to be. For Dorset to be successful, UHD needs to be successful and vice versa."

Big problems still exist in getting medically fit for discharge out of hospital and into a struggling care system.

Asked how long will take for beds to be freed up, patients to be moved quickly onto wards and ambulances queues outside emergency department to be eased, Ms Harrington admitted: "I don't have the answer to that.

"But when you come into a new job you have a number of ambitions about what you want to achieve in the first three months and that is pretty high on the list."

She admitted the financial position at UHD "not where we want it to be" but said the staff vacancy position had improved in the past two months.

And the major building programmes underway at both Bournemouth and Poole hospitals represented "an an amazing opportunity.

"The will be huge, positive impact for local people with facilities like the new maternity unit, emergency departments, paediatrics and new theatres. I have just come from an area that's incredibly envious of everything that is going on here.

"It's also a great opportunity for jobs and recruitment. I believe it's a really important part of the economic regeneration of the area."

Cost of living crisis is a health crisis too.