The patient must be the first priority (Photo: Martin Pope)
Mike Proctor is the man with the unenviable task of taking the disgrace that is Scarborough Hospital and turning it into a medical establishment that will be the blueprint for the future.
In April of 2012 Scarborough will come under the auspices of York Foundation Trust, which is where Mike has gained his experience, first as Director of Nursing and then as Deputy Chief Executive – therefore, he was the obvious choice as Chief Executive of Scarborough and Bridlington hospitals.
As readers of my blog will know, I have been trying, for some time, to obtain some reaction from the Scarborough Hospital Trust – and the local MP, Robert Goodwill – but, until now, with no luck. The appalling treatment (or non-treatment) my mother-in-law and I experienced pales into insignificance beside many emails I have received from readers, who describe what happened to them or their relatives. These truly heartbreaking stories spurred me on in an attempt to find answers to all their questions.
Determined to show that the appalling state of affairs at Scarborough Hospital is now recognised, Mike Proctor contacted me and asked for a meeting. I was delighted to accept and we had a most interesting discussion. Mike is well aware of the changes that are needed but, such is the current culture, it is clearly going to take up to ten years to eradicate the bad practices which have been unearthed.
Despite being swamped with complaints, Mike insists that he sees and signs each letter in reply to a patient or their family. Of course, this way, he can learn very quickly where most of the problems lie. I am sure that, if you are waiting for an answer, it will be on its way but, quite rightly, Mike is taking the time to study the subject – and many complaints are very complex.
Mike is passionate about supporting his staff so that they can give high quality patient care and, at Scarborough, is beginning the process by speaking to the nurses about their pastoral role – which, as I witnessed myself, has been forgotton in the effort to run the hospital for the convenience of the staff and not the patients. Already in place are four matrons – well-paid, to encourage high quality staff (he must have read my suggestion!) – brought in from York, whose remit is to ensure that the patient is the first priority. As I write this, I realise how extraordinary are those words – that nurses and doctors are actually having to be reminded why they are doing the job. It makes no sense to train for a job with which you simply do not have any empathy – particularly if you don't like dealing with sick and frail people. If all you want is a well-paid job, with no caring involved, do something else.
Mike is a man who does not fall into the trap of wanting to be liked; he is brave – and you need to be when faced with some of the Consultants, whose arrogance and egotistical behaviour beggars belief – I thought we had left the likes of Sir Lancelot Spratt in the last century but no, it seems that it is not just the nurses who need to learn how to be patient-friendly: he does not suffer fools gladly but neither does he place academic qualifications at the top of his list for a good nurse – we agreed that you cannot be a nurse if you place no emphasis on the true meaning of the word "nursing". After all, you "nurse" someone back to health and this requires a good deal more than popping pills.
Such has been the resistance to change at Scarborough Hospital that there have been 6 Chief Executives and 8 Directors of Finance in the past 7-8 years. I am sure they have tried their best but to no avail. I cannot help wondering what the members of the North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust thought they were doing? Where was Sir Michael Carlisle – Chairman of the Trust Board – while all this was going on? Was he not concerned about the downward spiral that his hospital was taking? Was he not aware of the bad publicity, the endless letters of complaint – not to mention the litigation? Had he thrown in the towel along with his parade of CEO's and FD's?
However, I left our meeting with the distict feeling that if anyone can achieve a good result for this hospital, it will be Mike Proctor but what follows is a small illustration of just how hard his job is going to be. A couple of days ago my husband visited his Mother in her Care Home (where most of the residents have dementia of some kind). The lady who runs the Home told him that one of the female residents had been returned to the Home from Scarborough Hospital with a needle still in her arm. I despair – as I am sure will Mike. How could that possibly have happened? Did no nurse notice? Again, this is an elderly, fragile and vulnerable patient, unable to communicate, who has been treated in a totally unprofessional manner. One of the Carers rang Scarborough Hospital and complained, so the hospital was made aware of the situation but did not respond except to apologise. When I checked this with the Care Home, I was told that another patient was sent back with someone else's medication – which, thank goodness, the Carer noticed before administering any of it. Again, the hospital was contacted. The impression given to the Carers is that "Scarborough Hospital does not care about our complaints". I know this does not apply to Mike Proctor – who cares passionately.
I am not sure whether or not it was the complaint about the needle that spurred someone into action, but I understand that there is now a check-list which has to be completed before a patient is discharged – and one of the questions is "Have all the needles been removed?". While this is excellent news, it does make me wonder why university graduate nurses cannot think to make these checks for themselves.
Mike – I wish you luck from the bottom of my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment