Press Release

1 July 2008

Trust welcomes the publication of Lord Darzi’s review

Mid Essex Hospitals welcome yesterday's publication of the review of the NHS by Lord Darzi.  This is the result of months of hard work involving a wide range of people.  We have been actively involved in the local interpretation of this document.  Members of our staff have attended focus groups run by the East of England Strategic Health Authority to give their views.  This review is about giving people the opportunity to shape the vision of the NHS over the next ten years and we welcome the changes and benefits it will bring to our patients and staff. Over the last  12  months the Trust has focussed intensively on the three underpinning pillars of this review:

High quality care - we deliver excellent care which was recognised in the 2007 Healthcare Commission annual health check when our quality of services was rated as "excellent".

Building capacity - our new  £148m PFI  hospital will deliver care to patients in  a cutting edge environment, we have  been actively recruiting staff in several areas including clinical and domestic services.

Responding to the reform levers - we welcome the changes to a more patient centric model of care, we have recently reviewed the way we listen to patients through increased patient feedback and weekly patient focus meetings.

We will be working through the document to look at how, as we move towards becoming a Foundation Trust, we can adopt the approaches suggested, ensuring we focus on the things that really matter to our patients.

ENDS

Media contact : Jo Triggs tel: (01245) 514235 | Mobile : 0790 005 4948