Lyn Simpson says challenges will “not be resolved overnight” but that the organisation now has stronger leadership and focus to make improvements for patients
Lyn Simpson, group chief executive of NHS Humber Health Partnership.(Image: NHS Humber Health Partnership)
The new boss of Humber Health Partnership says progress has been made in meeting challenges facing the hospitals operator. Lyn Simpson, joined the Partnership last summer on an interim basis, at the request of NHS England.
The organisation – which runs five main hospitals including Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital and Hull Royal Infirmary among others – was placed into special measures by NHS England in March having been ranked low performing in financial, patient safety and access to services. Ms Simpson was brought in to “provide leadership and stability”.
Humber Health Partnership says that since then, she has worked closely with clinicians and teams across to establish a clinically led improvement plan, bringing greater clarity, alignment and focus to how those challenges are addressed. The boards of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust have now confirmed Ms Simpson as substantive group chief executive.
Alan Downey, chair of the Humber Health Partnership, said: “Lyn has provided strong and focused leadership since joining the Partnership at a critical time. Her substantive appointment provides the stability and continuity needed as we move into the next phase of work to strengthen services and continue to improve outcomes for our patients and communities.”
Sir Jim Mackey, NHS chief executive, said: “Lyn’s appointment is really welcome – the challenges faced by these trusts are really significant but they’ve got a fantastic group of staff and Lyn’s experience and expert leadership will be vital in enabling them to turn the corner to get local NHS services back delivering in a way that their patients deserve.”
Lyn Simpson, group chief executive, said: “Since last summer, we have taken a clear, open and clinically led approach to understanding the long-standing challenges across the Partnership, and have made real progress in bringing greater alignment and focus to how we address them.
“This work is well underway, and we are now moving into the next phase, continuing to work closely with our clinical teams, colleagues across a and partners to improve services for our patients and communities.
“There is still a lot of work to do. These challenges have developed over many years and will not be resolved overnight, but we now have greater clarity, stronger clinical leadership and the right focus to deliver sustained improvement for patients across the Humber. This work has also led to closer alignment with NHS England through the Intensive Recovery Programme, providing additional support and structure as we move into the next phase.”
NHS Humber Health Partnership is one of the largest groups in the NHS, with a budget of more than £1.6bn and more than 19,000 staff. It is made up of two Trusts: Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.
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