Shortage of medical staff leads to ICU delays at Chesterfield

The shortage of middle grade anaesthetic cover has been raised by the critical care directorate and had been added to the risk register.

A meeting had been arranged with the directorate to fully understand what the current position was in terms of the work patterns of all staff. This was so that executives could obtain a view on the staff requirements and the workload staff currently had.

A lot of work had been undertaken in this area to start to address this risk but the directorate “now needed to provide reassurance it had a plan to improve theatre efficiency - which was currently only productively working at 65 per cent”, according to minutes. The plans would need to identify different ways of working that will deliver a more efficient service - an area well advanced in other directorates.

Board members shared their “views and frustration at the length of time this issue had been ongoing”. It was acknowledged that there was clear evidence that there were efficiencies to be made and the directorate now needed to “step up and deliver plans for a more efficient service and find their required savings”.

In addition, board members raised their “concern and frustration” that the trust was an ICU bed short, given the high levels of patient transfers.

Chief executive Eric Morton acknowledged the issue but “said the problem facing the trust was persuading the network to move a bed where it isn’t required to where it is”.

He explained that the networks were empowered to manage the beds to provide enough intensive care across the network, not in each hospital, and the only way to address this was via the network.

He added that the trust has more evidence that patient transfers were one of the highest in the country and that there are enough beds in the network but in the wrong place, but stressed that all channels of negotiation had to go via the network.