CONCERNS REMAIN FOR FUTURE OF HEATHERWOOD

11.33.15am GMT Fri 27th Nov 2009

Hospital Trust fails to allay fears at Annual Members' meeting

Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust held its third annual members' meeting at Wexham Park last night. The meeting was not widely advertised and consequently not well-attended.

Presentations by the newly-appointed chief executive and chief financial officer sought to explain what the Trust was doing to improve both its financial and operational performance. Earlier plans to improve performance were rejected by Monitor, the government watchdog, which is now maintaining a close watch on the Trust and has the power to make further changes, if necessary.

In the limited time available for questions it became quite clear, following a report from the Vice Chair of Governors, that the governors had played little or no part in the running of the Trust in the past and had been largely excluded from discussions about how to deal with the current financial crisis.

Ray Earwicker, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell, said after the meeting 'he thought the Trust had got off much too lightly. It was an ideal opportunity for members and the public to hold the govenors and management of one of the worst performing Trusts in the country to account and it had not been taken.

Despite the assurances offered by the Chief Executive about the continued role of Heatherwood, the Trust still has no long term plan for the future and the transfer of other services to Wexham Park could clearly not be ruled out.

Wexham Park was far too remote to meet the needs of residents of Bracknell Forest and any attempt to further restrict the provision of services at Heatherwood must be vigorously resisted. Bracknell Forest Council needed to adopt a much stronger approach to defending the healthcare interests of its residents, especially at a time when the financial outlook for the NHS was so bleak and all the local NHS trusts were clearly engaged in a competition to improve efficiency and consolidate services.'