How Wexham Park Hospital got into such a mess:
How Wexham Park Hospital got into such a mess: Lead governor speaks out
HOSPITAL chiefs were so geared towards gaining foundation trust status they neglected their responsibilities over the everyday running of two hospitals - amassing a staggering £50m debt.
Paul Henry, lead governor at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals' NHS Foundation Trust, reveals in an exclusive interview with The Observer - for the first time - the eye-watering debt at the trust.
He says it has been plunged into an inescapable financial crisis, with the ripples still filtering through to patient experience five years on.
In a no holds barred interview, he gives a frank assessment of how the trust was dumped in the red, why it is failing patients and how it will can never make a profit again.
He said:
- A previous administration took the trust from a profit to a large loss in just one year because they were too busy meeting targets to ensure it became a foundation trust
- The trust will not make a profit again because of the interest repayments on a government loan it took out to pay the original debt
- For years after becoming a foundation trust, bosses did not know where money was being spent because the accounts were such a mess
- Patients have been failed at the trust because of poor staff attitudes, outdated facilities and a lack of accountability
- Slammed health services regulator Monitor for taking 18 months to sort out the takeover
The trust was deemed in significant breach of its terms of authorisation by Monitor in 2009. This was due to a 'rapid decline' in its financial and operational performance.
Two damning reports from the health watchdog, published in May last year and January this year, have revealed a string of failings at Wexham Park Hospital.
The trust is in discussions to be taken over by Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust, with a decision expected in April. The move is expected to secure the long-term future of the trust.
Chief executive Philippa Slinger announced last week she is resigning from her £185k-£190k post to take up a new job with Care UK. She was facing the axe if the merger went ahead.
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