Later today (30 January 2014) the committee of MPs scrutinising the Care Bill is expected to debate Clause 118 on the powers of Trust Special Administrators. The Bill extends the remit of an administrator brought in to manage a failing trust, so that he or she can make recommendations about other trusts in the area.
Ahead of that debate, the Royal College of Physicians, the Foundation Trust Network, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and the NHS Confederation set out their call for thorough consultation in the Trust Special Administrator process:
No NHS Trust operates in isolation, and inevitably the failure of one trust will impact on others in the local area. It is important that Trust Special Administrators brought in to deal with failing trusts are able to consider the wider healthcare system in their investigations.
If a Trust Special Administrator wishes to make recommendations about the design of the wider healthcare system, steps must be taken to ensure that neighbouring trusts and the local population have their voices heard. We welcome amendments to the Care Bill that require Trust Special Administrators to consult with the staff and management of other trusts affected by their recommendations, but we want to see this go further. We are calling for subsequent guidance to define how Trust Special Administrators should take a genuinely collaborative approach.
Consultation with patients, clinicians, commissioners and other trusts must be substantial, and conducted at a stage when it is truly meaningful. Objections to the recommendations of a Trust Special Administrator must also be given a fair hearing, with disagreements made clear to politicians and the public.
The bigger challenge is to avoid failure in the first place, and to redesign services without the constraints of the Trust Special Administrator failure regime. Decisions about the redesign of services should be a true collaboration between patients, clinicians and managers. Decisions should take a whole-system approach, and strong leadership is required throughout.
- Dr Andrew Goddard, registrar, Royal College of Physicians
- Saffron Cordery, director of policy and strategy, Foundation Trust Network
- Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
- Matt Tee, chief operating officer, NHS Confederation
For further information, please contact RCP Public Affairs Manager, Andrew McCracken, on 0203 075 1354, 07990 745 608, or via andrew.mccracken@rcplondon.ac.uk.
- The RCP, as part of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and in partnership with National Voices and the NHS Confederation, supported a report aimed at reframing the debate on reconfiguration. Download Changing care, improving quality from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges website.
- The RCP’s Future Hospital Programme has set out a radical new model for the care of acute medical patients. Download the Future Hospital Commission report.