'Malton Hospital's future is bright' vows chief executive of NHS trust (From Gazette & Herald)

'Malton Hospital's future is bright' vows chief executive of NHS trust

A BUOYANT future for Malton Hospital and Ryedale's health services has been forecast by Alison Guy, the chief executive of the area's NHS trust.

Ms Guy, who took over the top health service job in the Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale and Bridlington area just six months ago, at a time when it was bedevilled with controversy over waiting list figures allegedly being fiddled, big budget deficits, and threats to hospital maternity units, says she is determined to resolve the issues.

Her career started as a nurse and she eventually became a director of nursing at Bishop Auckland and Hull and East Riding Hospitals Trust before being promoted to deputy chief executive.

"I know we have a poor financial situation which we need to sort out," said Ms Guy, who stated that the appointment of a new director of finance was a major first step.

"We are now much clearer about our performance position. The staff have been brilliant - we have some enormously good staff in all parts of our health service locally - they are hugely able," she said.

"When you know you have got staff of this calibre, you know you can take strides forward."

She said talks were underway about the hospital buildings and their problems and the need to invest to create better working facilities.

Financially, the trust has ended its financial year with a balanced budget: "But we do have an underlying recurrent deficit."

The large geographical area covered by the trust meant there had to be different ways of working, said Ms Guy.

"Most trusts have to cope with severe winter pressure on their beds, mainly because of the high elderly population but in this area of North Yorkshire our pressure is year-round because of the big influx of tourists."

On maternity services, Ms Guy said a group known as a modernisation board had been set up and was looking at maternity units at the Malton, Whitby and Bridlington hospitals.

While mums-to-be are well screened, it is always a worry that facilities should be available when and where they are needed should anything go wrong, she said.

"Services need to be affordable but we need to get more investment."

Of Scarborough General Hospital, she said: "I see it expanding in terms of increasing number of beds."

Scarborough still has the traditional Nightingale wards - long wards packed with beds.

"In the past, we have not had a ward refurbishment programme - but I am determined to reverse that."

Ms Guy believes that some £250,000 will need to be invested in each of the wards to bring them up to modern standards.

"The variety of care we offer means we need a good district general hospital."

Of Malton Hospital, she said that, like those at Whitby and Malton, its services will be maintained but will be different in the future.

She said: "Health care changes so fast and we need to keep pace with it."

Ms Guy added that technology is going to play a big part in future health care in Ryedale, especially in diagostic services.

"We need to make sure that patients don't have to travel."

They should be examined in their own local hospital and the results of tests immediately relayed back to them from Scarborough General. Such a system will probably cost several millions of pounds but it is possible to have it, said Ms Guy.

Following the national headline-hitting reports of false waiting list figures being published, which has resulted in three directors being suspended, the complex investigations are still on-going, she said.

"We have done a huge amount of work on our systems. We need to constantly monitor everything we do in future."

Generally, she wanted any changes to be seen as positive ways forward rather than threatening.

On private health care and the plans to build a private hospital at Scarborough to replace the BUPA Belvedere Hospital which closed last May, she said it was vital because it enabled the trust to attract consultants from other parts of the country.

In addition, said Ms Guy, it ensured that health care money was kept in the area and not going to private hospitals in cities elsewhere in Yorkshire.

On the NHS in general, she said: "The real message is that we do provide good services, that we have good staff and we know where we are going.

"Providing quality services to the local population is important. We want the right services for our hospitals and the right level of investment."

Updated: 14:51 Wednesday, April 09, 2003