An update on the latest news about the redevelopment of Guisborough General Hospital. Simon Clarke is pleased to confirm that although there has been a pause in terms of the process of procuring the demolition of the link corridor (caused by the process of asbestos removal having taken longer than envisaged), these works are expected to be complete in December 2018. Other work currently continues on site.
To date a total of £480,000 has been invested in the site. Clinical services have been relocated from one part of the building to the other in order to progress the development but retain clinical service delivery.
Non clinical staff have been re-located from the Challoner building to Langbaurgh House. Challoner building has now been sold for housing.
In terms of the outlook, as I set out in my video last week, the CCG is currently in special measures owing to an overspend against its budget. It is an automatic requirement of this status that all aspects of spending are reviewed, and the CCG will provide further details later this autumn.
Two of the most important drivers of excess costs in our local NHS are overprescribing and unnecessary hospital visits - and this is where we can help.
1) Overprescribing. South Tees CCG prescribes over 7 million items per year and spends £4 million more than the North East and Cumbria CCG average. We need to get this under control. The CCG is providing additional training for its prescribing clerks to ensure they order generic drugs rather than more expensive patented versions, and are working with organisations like care homes that have particularly high levels of demand. But we can help too.
A good example would the way lots of us end up stockpiling medicines we don't need, for example through repeat prescriptions. Many of us have cleared out drawers containing medicines we have never used, and we can all do our best to prevent this kind of waste.
2) Unnecessary hospital visits. The CCG’s message is we need to go to the right place to see the right people at the right time. You should always go to A&E in an emergency, but for less serious conditions there are a range of excellent alternatives, including community pharmacies and the NHS 111 service. Please use them.
I have been very clear to the leadership of the CCG that everyone in Guisborough wants the Hospital work to restart as quickly as possible, and I will be meeting them in a few weeks to hear about progress.
It would be really helpful if you can indicate that you want to see this too, and will commit to avoid unnecessary waste, by pledging your support for the Hospital. I will present this to the CCG when I meet them in a few weeks’ time. You can sign at:
