SIR David Dalton, Chief Executive of The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, has announced to staff this week that over £30m of new funding has been secured to invest in frontline services, to support staff and to help pay for hundreds more doctors and nurses.

In a positive message to Trust staff, Sir David confirmed that £20.5m of new additional money has been secured for 2017/18 to be used to support frontline staff in the Trust’s improvement journey at its four hospitals at Oldham, Bury, Rochdale and North Manchester.

The NHS Trust was rated by England’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals as Inadequate following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission and has been placed under the stewardship of the Salford Foundation Trust last August.

The money will be used to pay for over 300 more nursing and midwifery staff over the next three years, 35 more doctors, 35 more Allied Health Professionals including clinical therapists, new medical equipment, £1m of investment in new IT and information systems, and £2.5m of investment in developing hospital site-based operational infrastructures.

In addition to the £20.5m, the Trust has also successfully secured £10m for essential capital investment in the estates and facilities at the North Manchester General Hospital and The Royal Oldham sites. Both sites have been allocated £5m each. The £5m for the North Manchester site is on top of the £5m that is being spent on the construction of a new 24-bed intermediate care unit at the moment.

Sir David Dalton, Chief Executive at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“This £30m of additional money will be invested in frontline services and will be used to support staff and help us employ more doctors, more nurses, more midwives and more clinical staff in areas where we need them. As part of our improvement work, we have listened to our nursing staff who have told us that we need to increase our nursing and midwifery staffing levels on our wards to ensure staff are supported and that patients are getting the very best care they need. I have accepted their recommendations and so £10m has been set aside to recruit over 300 more nursing and midwifery staff over the next few years across all of our hospital sites.

“This is a significant amount of money that is part of a financial commitment to support the Trust’s improvement journey. This funding recognises all of the hard work, changes and improvements that have been delivered by our staff at all levels over the last few months.

“The investment is an endorsement from our external partners of the confidence they have that our staff and our new site-based leadership teams can and will deliver the necessary changes to improve services further and in building a positive future for our staff and the local communities we serve.

“The additional £10m of capital investment is also a significant commitment to begin the development of our hospital sites, firstly at The Royal Oldham Hospital and North Manchester General Hospital where both staff and patients will benefit. This investment for North Manchester General demonstrates the steps we are taking with our commissioners to plan for a vibrant and sustainable future for the site, integrating improved hospital services with a range of wider services. The aim is to ensure that the hospital remains a key asset for the local community that will provide services that best meets the healthcare needs of local people. We know this hospital has old and disused buildings which will require further substantial capital investment so that it is fit for purpose in the future.”

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