Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (WUTH) is an NHS Foundation Trust. It provides healthcare for people of the Wirral Peninsula and the surrounding areas of North West England and North Wales.

The trust is responsible for Arrowe Park Hospital, Clatterbridge Hospital, and Wirral Women and Children's Hospital. It also provides some services at St Catherine's Health Centre, Tranmere and Victoria Central Health Centre, Wallasey.^[1]

History

Prior to gaining teaching accreditation and authorisation as a Foundation Trust status in 2007, the trust was known as Wirral Hospitals NHS Trust.

The former hospital trust took control of the Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge sites from Wirral Health Authority in 1992.^[2]

The Wirral Women and Children's Hospital was founded in 2011 following redevelopment of the maternity annexe on the Arrowe Park campus.^[3]

Regulator inspections and findings

As with all NHS trusts, Wirral University Teaching Hospital is under constant scrutiny from regulators.

Monitor

In March 2012, the UK health sector regulator, Monitor, found the trust was "persistently failing" the 18 week waiting time target. It also had concerns about the way the board was run.^[4] Chief executive, Len Richards, had already left the trust in August 2011 following a vote of no confidence.^[5][6] His replacement, David Allison, joined the trust in April 2012. Since then, all barring one of the previous Executive Board members have left. The exception, Sue Green (director of human resources), was suspended in October 2013.^[7][8]

In February 2013, Monitor reported that "significant improvements" had been made in reducing waiting times for patients needing routine surgery with the Trust consistently achieving the standard for referring patients for treatment within 18 weeks. Monitor also recognised the "important improvements" made by the Board of Directors in the way the Trust is run and engages with clinical staff. As a result of this Monitor concluded in February 2013 that the Trust was longer in breach of its terms of authorisation.^[9] However, in November 2013, Monitor opened a new investigation into the trust's financial performance.^[10]

Care Quality Commission

In December 2013, the Care Quality Commission published a report into satisfaction of maternity services across England. Wirral Women and Children's Hospital was named in the Top 7 in England and the No 1 in North West England for patient care.^[11]

In January 2014, the Care Quality Commission published a report into the standards of care at Arrowe Park Hospital. The report stated that the hospital had met all six measures for delivering 'standards you have a right to expect' in hospital care.^[12]

Relationship with Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group

In May 2014 Frank Field MP alleged that close relationships between senior members of the Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group and the Trust may have dented the "independence" and "integrity" of local health services, writing to the Secretary of State that "“Arrowe Park has a long history of not being able properly to manage its budget. It regularly looks around for further funds to which it demands almost immediate access but is unprepared to make any efforts at reforming its own practices. Closures, sackings and loss of patient services has been its traditional negative stance. The CCG therefore has the near impossible task of winning reform in the face of these negotiating tactics.”^[13]

See also

• List of NHS trusts

References

External links

• Official website