RJAH pledges to address “once and for all” problems with waiting times

Leaders at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Oswestry have pledged to address “once and for all” problems with waiting times that have been identified by health sector regulator Monitor.

A long-running investigation into the Hospital Trust’s performance on Referral To Treatment (RTT) targets and wider cultural issues has concluded, with the Trust being told to speed up how quickly it provides patients with routine care.

While this will not affect the day-to-day delivery of patient care, it does mean the hospital has agreed to develop effective and robust recovery plan to rectify the problems.

John Grinnell, Acting Chief Executive at RJAH, said: “I must stress that this has not come as a surprise as we have worked very closely with Monitor and other external partners throughout this process to get to the bottom of these issues and begin the task of establishing a sustainable recovery plan.

“We have been affected by problems related to our delivery of access targets for a number of years now, and we see this as an opportunity to sort the issue once and for all.

“We have already strengthened the leadership of the organisation with the appointment of two new Executive Directors, as well as a new Chief Executive – Mark Brandreth – who will be joining us in April and is in full support of this programme of work.

“We have also already made new appointments in our operational team and one of their key priorities is to focus on effective management of our waiting lists.”

Monitor will also appoint an Improvement Director to work alongside the Trust’s Board of Directors in order to support the delivery of these objectives. And with much of the work already under way, Mr Grinnell insists that staff and patients should be reassured that progress is being made.

“I truly believe we are heading in the right direction and I look forward to 2016 with optimism,” he added. “I have seen myself the commitment and dedication of staff across the hospital and the feedback I and colleagues on the Board of Directors are getting from patients is that they appreciate the outstanding patient care and outcomes we deliver on a daily basis.

“However, we recognise that elements of our processes that support the delivery of access targets have not been good enough and that is something we have to put right.

“We apologise to any patient who has been affected by the issues we have experienced. We have got work to do but we are making sure that we put patients first and are moving forward with a robust recovery plan.”