New Shropshire hospitals chief executive focussed on long-standing issues
The interim chief executive of Shropshire's major hospitals has started work and said that despite being a short-term appointment she is committed to ensuring the trust is prepared for the strains of winter.
Paula Clark took up her post as interim chief executive of Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal hospitals, today after her predecessor, Simon Wright's shock decision to leave the job.
She will have found a hefty in-tray on arrival in the post, with the trust in special measures after a critical Care Quality Commission inspection, an ongoing review into poor maternity care and baby deaths, and the much-delayed Future Fit reorganisation – which is still waiting for approval from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Mrs Clark is the former chief executive at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), which she joined in October 2016, having previously been chief executive of the Dudley Group Foundation Trust.
Prior to that she had been CEO at Burton Hospitals Foundation Trust.
Mrs Clark said she would be looking to tackle long-standing issues at the trust, as well as coming up with a plan for better performance at the hospitals over winter.
She said: “I’m really delighted to be joining The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust today as interim chief executive.
“I’ve been working in the NHS in the West Midlands since 2005. I do, therefore, understand the challenges facing our trust and other healthcare providers across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales. These are similar to those facing the NHS nationally, but for rural trusts such as ours they are even more acute.
Committed
“I recognise that this is a time of further change, and this is not easy for the teams out in the organisation who continue to care for patients each and every day.
“As an interim appointment, it means that I’m not going to be with the trust in the long-term. However, even though I won’t be with the trust for a long time, I’m committed to working with everyone to ensure that we develop a plan for a better winter performance. In addition, I will be working with my new executive team colleagues to tackle many of the long-standing issues that face all of our teams."
Mrs Clark said she would be speaking with staff as much as possible in an effort to find out first-hand what needs to be improved.
She said: “I want to make sure I spend as much time as I can out with the teams to hear first-hand what they have got to say and what they think needs to be done to make things better. As the people delivering and supporting services, they are best placed to help with that endeavour, so I want them to be open and honest with me.
“I also want to know what they are really proud of so we can make sure we get a balanced view.”
