Lynn hospital services 'excellent'
THE quality of services offered at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital has been given the top-level rating of "excellent" in the annual Healthcare Commission assessment.
The results, published as part of the commission's Annual Health Check (AHC), has seen the QEH improve on last year's "good" rating and it is now within the top 20 per cent of best-performing NHS Trusts in the country for healthcare.
However, the Trust's historic debts have counted against it in the assessment for use of resources, which was rated as "weak" for the second year running.
Despite making savings of 7.8million the rating was still "weak" as all NHS Trusts are obliged to break even.
QEH interim chief executive Rowena Barnes said: "A year ago we promised the local community that we would work harder and would aim for an 'excellent' rating for our services and we have achieved it.
"This reflects the sheer hard work and dedication of our staff at all levels in wanting to provide the best possible standard of healthcare for our community.
"We accept that finances will continue to be a challenge until we have cleared our remaining debt completely. The progress we have made during the last financial year in reducing our deficit was outstanding and should not be underestimated.
"We managed to reduce our predicted deficit by almost 8million at a time when we were actually improving services for our patients."
The AHC rankings replace the former star rating system used in previous years and the "excellent" assessment for quality of service covers a range of areas including safety of patients, cleanliness and waiting times.
Four levels are used to rate NHS Trust performance, ranging from a top level of "excellent" down to the lowest rating of "weak".
Norfolk Primary Care Trust also saw its use of resources rated as "weak" in the AHC but the result was expected given the organisation's financial difficulties in its first year.
The Trust received a "fair" result for its quality of services, which means it provides good quality of care for local people.
Chairman Sheila Childerhouse said: "This year has been a challenging one for us as a newly established organisation but due to the dedication and commitment of all our staff in putting the healthcare of the local population first, we are making real progress."
The East of England Ambulance Service received a score of "good" for quality of service and a "fair" rating for its use of resources.
Interim chief executive Hayden Newton has praised the staff who have worked hard in the face of rising 999 calls and against a backdrop of major organisational change. He added: "The task now is to continue and build upon this positive report in coming months, which promise to be among the most significant ever seen."
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
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