14/01/10

Award-winning doctors safe governors of hospital

Ipswich Hospital has won a leading industry award for appointing top doctors into crucial decision-making roles.

The NHS has been widely criticised for allowing decisions on patient care to be made by managers without clinical experience. But at Ipswich there are seven consultants who work alongside senior managers.

At a ceremony at London’s Metropolitan Hilton, Paddington, the hospital scooped a Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) award. The awards recognise achievement in heath service management.

At the start of the financial year, the hospital restructured into new units - with a clinical chairman at the helm of each.

Jason Kirk, deputy director of finance, said: “We took a good hard look at how the organisation was set up and came up with a pretty radical design for change.

“The model we have chosen is called service line management which based on ‘business units’. They are usually found in private industry but are also recommended for the NHS.

“It is the fact that we have made clinicians responsible for decision-making, but not managing, which has won us the accolade, along with the way in which we help them to assess and manage what they are doing.”

All the consultants, who cover all areas of healthcare from gynaecology and radiology to surgery and care of the elderly, still undertake their clinical work.

Ipswich was the only NHS trust in the east of England to be shortlisted for an HFMA award. There were seven awards and the hospital won the governance category.

The hospital is reporting an improvement in several areas of performance – including infection control and finance – since the restructure was introduced.