Must-do: our core work

We exist to provide safe, effective, thoughtful NHS health care.  In order to be allowed to continue to do this we must meet legislative and regulatory requirements. 

Departments need to understand what specifically this means for them, but to some extent it can be encapsulated as follows:  maintain compliance with CQC essential standards and those of related agencies; maintain compliance with Monitor’s financial and governance requirements; comply with legislation relating to fire, carbon reduction, equalities etc; achieve national requirements for service, teaching and research.

In addition, a must-do for us is to fulfil the requirements of our 2012 Olympic Games contract.

Aspire-to-do

We aspire to do the following because we believe they are important to our future and we will focus time and energy on them.

1. Quality and Safe for patients
To provide the public with confidence that the Homerton is a very safe hospital by maintaining Hospital Mortality markers at a level which demonstrate this to be the case, and to provide evidence that all of our services have the hallmarks of quality and safety.

2. Expanding the organisation
To grow the organisation, moving from £230 to £300 million turnover, through a planned and strategic approach to increasing referrals and establishing new services, so that we are confident we are the right size for the future.

3. Community/hospital integration
To be an exemplar organisation for community health and hospital services integration, by fulfilling our integration programme and associated informatics and premises plans. This will support us to retain the contract for the provision of community services for Hackney and the City beyond 2015.

4. Short waits
To be a ‘short-wait’ organisation, with all patients being offered an appointment for a consultation or investigation within four weeks. Patients for urgent consultations will continue to wait no more than two weeks and those presenting to the emergency department attended to within four hours.

5. Communications with patients, GPs and professionals
To be exemplary in our engagement with the patient, GP and key professionals in relation to every interaction with our services; ensuring consultation and investigation reports are conveyed to patient, GP and professionals within five working days; summaries from in-patient stays and emergency attendances within 24 hours.

6. Staff development
To prepare staff for the Homerton of the future by ensuring everyone is clear on their contribution to making this organisation and their service better, through programmes which develop Service Line Management, clinical leaders and the ability of staff to achieve the trust’s goals.