AGM 2024 questions from the public

How are improvement and transformation success stories shared across the organisation and up to Board level, and are we celebrating success in a way that motivates staff and informs patients?

We know we need to do more to share these successes - larger transformation programmes and projects generally take longer to come to fruition so there’s not an immediate story to tell.

Within our Access Wellbeing programme we are revisiting our approach to communicating about the programme and will use that learning to inform our other programmes.

At the start of our transformation programmes we engage operational and clinical frontline teams, as well as service users, to develop the future model and define what success would look like from a patient, community and staff perspective.

For example, now the Access Wellbeing services are being rolled out, we have brought back the people involved in the original design work to see the progress made and benefits that are being realised. This has received really positive feedback as both staff and service users could see their plans, which felt very theoretical many years ago, being bought to life.

Within our Frailty programme we have recently established our Frailty Virtual Ward newsletter for staff to share updates and celebrate successes of the programme.

And we share individual programme updates and success stories at Board, Council of Governors, and other key meetings as well as through our internal communications channels like the intranet. We celebrated the openings of our Access Wellbeing hubs externally through the media and on social media.

We do need to do more though, particularly from the frontline staff perspective and this will form part of our Joint Improvement Framework.

Quality improvement (QI) success stories are shared through established reporting processes to relevant committees and groups and are also available on our intranet.

Improvement activities are highlighted through specialist forums, themed events like Nurses Day and AHP Day and conferences like "Quality Matters."

Recently, QI Week showcased key projects through events, podcasts, and social media, which has generated reflection on how we can better celebrate successes.

We see an opportunity to better inform patients by creating a public-facing improvement web page, complementing our existing practice of involving service users and carers in relevant projects.

How does our approach to delivering high quality care consider the needs of all the populations that the Trust serves?

We are adopting an outcomes-based approach to our transformation programmes and we use population health data to inform that work.

For our work in Weymouth and Portland work our aim is to reduce the demand for unplanned care within the Weymouth and Portland area.

To understand what drives demand for unplanned care we looked at the available data for the population including demographics, mortality rates, health inequalities and activity data around the use of health services. We supplemented that with insights gained from community conversations and feedback from frontline teams to inform the work.

We are adopting this approach across our INT programme and have developed data and insight packs for each area which will be used to start the local conversations and inform the priority focus areas.

This reflects any health inequalities that may exist and helps us to address those proactively as we set out the priorities and plan how services will be delivered in those areas.

Why has Swanage Hospital lost so many services and clinics?

Understand that members of the local community will want to understand any changes to services, and we are committed to engaging and working with you all about service developments.

Appreciate there has been concern about Rheumatology moving out of Swanage. This is a service led across the county by our partners in University Hospitals Dorset and increasingly there is a move to provide a more virtual service as well as appointments in Poole.

In addition, endoscopy is unable to be provided from Swanage due to the building being unable to accommodate the structural changes required for ventilation system.

However we do continue to provide numerous clinics and services at Swanage, both those provided directly by the Trust and also for services provided by our partners. Aware that LOF are currently working with our Locality Manager around the potential to renovate some of the space at Swanage to improve the environment and introduce a reception area for outpatients.

We see our community hospitals as key to our presence in local communities and want to ensure we have thriving community sites that offer the services needed in that area. This will be key to our vision as we develop integrated neighbourhood teams across Dorset over the coming year.

When will patients be able to walk in to MIUs without having to go through 111 system?

Apart from during COVID-19 restrictions, walk-in access at Swanage MIU has never stopped. However, in line with our other MIUs and the Weymouth Urgent Treatment Centre, we advise anyone needing urgent care to call NHS 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk first, for an initial assessment.

Our staff will identify what treatment or support is needed and, if a visit to an MIU is required, an appointment will be booked. This approach often saves people unnecessary journeys and/or long waits at NHS sites.

While anyone turning up unannounced at an MIU during its opening hours will be assessed, they could be directed elsewhere or given an appointment to return later that day or the next, if that is the best route to meet their care needs.