Tim midgley THE front page of the Newsletter (August 12) and the revelations from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive and his senior management came as no great surprise.
Respectfully Mr Sumara stated that there are three options; when in fact there is a fourth - that being turning both Stafford and Cannock into community hospitals.
In Surrey, after their manager’s incompetence grew out of control at their local hospital, a group of consultants found the land and equity investors to put up the £80 million they required to build a new hospital that they will run it on behalf of their community and to its benefit.
Take the current market value of the two sites at Stafford and Cannock and the cost of up-grading the clinical equipment to that expected in the 21st century.
Upgrade Cannock to have its own A&E unit and increase the numbers of A&E consultants on duty at both Stafford and Cannock 24/7.
Change Stafford’s post graduate centre into a state of the art neurological and neurosurgical and neuro-rehabilitation centre.
Improve Stafford’s surgical facilities and increase its intensive bed numbers to the numbers that equate to those of the demographics of mid Staffordshire.
Increase the hospital’s cardiac surgical facilities to include transplant services, likewise with heart and lung transplants.
Improve Stafford’s renal services to include transplant services. Upgrade all clinical imaging equipment and computer systems.
Upgrade the maternity unit to include an obstetrics theatre and special baby care unit.
Increase the current patient to qualified nurse ratio by 12 per cent and at drug rounds each day. Then additional staff will be available on each ward to ensure drugs are given on time and patients do not suffer because they are not or patients are not given overdoses due to pressure on staff during drug rounds.
Bring back in-house caterers and cleaning contractors.
Ensure that in future only consultants or registrars can discharge their patients and not unqualified bed managers.
Having spoken with two Sovereign funds they would both prepare to take equity in such a venture; with a pool of consultants managing and running the hospital.
If Stafford and Cannock were to do this these hospitals would have no historic debt, no costs contributing towards the costs of empty office buildings around the area or the PCT or the SHA, nor would its funds be diluted paying for the pensions of the previous mismanagement who were able to run off before the storm.
Both sovereign funds stated they would give the equity investment an initial dividend holiday; before expecting a dividend on its 30 per cent and based on the figures provided by RICS members; also the Department of Health, NHS and BUPA, Spire, Cornwall House as well as the Hayward Hospital and Medtronic’s, MTZ, Ramsay Health Care, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Bruker, Health Management Corporation of America, Anaszi Instruments, RWTH Aachen University, MIT, Schiller etc.
By making the transplant theatres available for private use 20 per cent of the week will provide £6 million in net income per year which equates to 85 per cent of the expected dividend the Sovereign funds wish as a return on their investment after three years.
Therefore the hospitals will always have a substantive income and reinvestment programme and be able to pay the best salaries to get the best people and best equipment.
Therefore there is a fourth way and that’s not Stafford and Cannock becoming annexes for the patients that the UHNS or New Cross do not know what to do with; or the NHS estates department selling the sites off for supermarkets.
These hospitals can become vibrant beacons of healthcare within Mid Staffordshire run by its consultants for the people of Mid Staffordshire.
Briar Close Walton On The Hill.
