Improvements at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust highlighted by regulator
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has improved its financial management and planning, following regulatory action by Monitor.
The regulator has issued a ‘statement of compliance’ which recognises improvements in the trust’s financial planning. This builds on progress made in how it is run, board effectiveness and in relation to operational performance and the way the trust manages the quality of patient care.
The statement ends the regulator’s formal action at the trust, which began in April 2012 when Monitor required the trust to get external help to improve operational performance and the way in which it was managed.
The trust, which provides community services at over 20 health centres and clinics and runs the Royal Bolton Hospital, has recently secured funding from the Department of Health to help improve its IT systems and buildings, which forms part of the trust’s plan to deliver quality patient services over the next 5 years.
Justin Collings, Senior Regional Manager at Monitor, said:
We are pleased that patients are benefitting from improvements in the way the trust is run and that extra funding has been provided to the trust to ensure that its buildings and IT systems are appropriate for staff to provide safe high-quality patient care.
The trust’s staff have worked incredibly hard to make the changes needed and our decision recognises the positive steps that have been taken.
Bolton is a success story that shows it is possible for a foundation trust to turn itself around from a position of large deficits and poor operational performance to be a financially viable hospital delivering good outcomes for its patients.
The regulator will continue to scrutinise the trust’s performance to ensure that it builds on the progress that has been made.