The model that has seen a Northern NHS Trust top league tables and lead the way when it comes to waiting times is a "good example" for other NHS bosses, a health minister has said. Karin Smyth MP told ChronicleLive that Northumbria Healthcare's success - it was the top performing general hospital trust in the league tables published last week - could be a guide for other NHS trusts.
The Department for Health and Social Care has published the revived league tables as part of a drive to increase accessibility and accountabiity in the NHS. Three of five NHS trusts across Tyne and Wear were ranked in the top 30 overall as previously reported, with Northumbria Healthcare ninth. The trust runs hospitals across North Tyneside and Northumberland.
But other trusts such as Gateshead Health struggled - placing 83rd - due to measures which mean that trusts running financial deficits cannot be placed above half-way. Speaking this week, Ms Smyth, a former NHS manager herself, said: "We have been really clear that we know how important the NHS is to people - but we have to be very honest about the challenges it faces.
"We want to shine a light on what happens in local NHS systems. We know things are very variable up and down the country. What we want to do is to shine a light on the successes - and bring the best to the rest of the NHS - and we want to be clear and honest about where things are more challenged.
"We want to show people what's happening in their local NHS systems and we want to make sure local people can understand. This is a key part of that. All of this information has been in the system already and it has been validated by the trusts themselves. What it now means is we can present this in a way which is more accessible.
"When you have somewhere like Northumbria, that has done very well, that's an good example for others. What we want to do is ensure that we have the best operating models for the NHS across the country. And of course what we really want to see is to bring more care out of hospitals. That'll be making more use of community diagnostic centres".
There are a total of 134 trusts ranked and the range of scores is from 1.39 to 3.35. The lower, the better. The rankings are relative, rather than absolute, and that means a quarter of trusts have been ranked in the top "segment", with another 25% in the second segment and so on.
Birju Bartoli, chief executive at the Northumbria trust - which runs hospitals across Northumberland and North Tyneside - said: "Patients are at the heart of everything we do, we know time is of real importance to them and that is why we focus so closely on the core performance metrics and what that means for local people."
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