Aintree University Hospital staff praised for “amazing efforts” by Trust Chairman

Staff at Aintree University Hospital have been praised for improvements in quality of care despite growing pressures on the NHS.

Neil Goodwin, hospital Chairman, was speaking as the organisation’s half-year review was published.

Neil said: “There have been some amazing efforts made by our staff which have resulted in real quality improvements for patients, giving them improved access to the care they need.

“I was again struck by how many patients have written to me to say how grateful they are to staff for their work despite the challenges they face. I am very proud of how hard Aintree staff have been working to put our patients first.”

The report marks achievements including:

• A new heart clinic cutting hospital admissions for patients using the service by 25% while saving extra lives,
• Improved access for patients, including for stroke services,
• Quality improvements including extra training for surgical teams to improve patient safety,
• Saving more than £600,000 in agency costs by making better use of the in-house ‘bank’ system,
• The hospital’s volunteer service, one of the largest in the NHS, winning an award for their work with end-of-life patients and their families, and
• Greater workforce support, including winning awards for work with apprentices and giving additional help to newly-qualified nurses.

The report also highlights the challenges which the NHS continues to face, including finances and growing demand, with the hospital seeing nearly 6,000 patients more in its Emergency Department compared with the previous 12 months.

Neil added: “The NHS is now operating in the tightest financial position ever, while facing record levels of patient demand. That makes what our staff are achieving day-in, day-out, even more remarkable.

“We are also doing much more in partnership with other NHS and social care organisations. This is so important to patients and their families because they see us as a single NHS, without organisational boundaries, and what matters to them is that we deliver joined up, seamless care.”

To read Aintree’s half-yearly report please visit www.aintreehospital.nhs.uk.