NHS Providers has written to the Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock to call for the government to commit to a series of protocols for all future announcements affecting the operations of NHS Trusts.
The organisation does not want to see a repeat of recent announcements that have significant operational implications for the NHS and that have been made without proper consultation with – or notice to – NHS Trust leaders.
The examples cited by NHS Providers include: the use of face masks and visiting policy; the Test and Trace which may involve entire NHS teams having to isolate with immediate effect; changes to the approach to testing NHS staff and patients; and the original lockdown announcement, in which NHS staff were instructed to leave work immediately to go into isolation.
Chief Executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, says: “Important decisions affecting the operations of NHS Trusts should not come as a surprise to those expected to deliver them. Trust leaders have an important role to play in shaping and informing the way we confront coronavirus.
“But they need to be ‘in the loop’ so they can help ensure the best decisions are made and are then implemented effectively on the ground. Unfortunately, there have been too many occasions where they’ve been caught unawares or haven’t had what they needed.”
Today, the requirement for all staff, visitors and outpatients to wear face masks - which may involve the hospital providing them to anyone who comes to site without one - comes into effect, but Trusts only received guidance around implementing this policy on Friday. NHS Providers describes this as “deeply frustrating.”
NHS Providers urges that a return to well-established protocols is now needed, which would include consulting Trust Chief Executives on the content of major changes, giving them as much notice as possible of any announcements along with the information they need to answer questions from staff and patients and circulating any detailed guidance promptly.
Read the letter here.
