Chairman keen on community link
The new chairman of the trust that runs Newark Hospital said he is keen to build a relationship with the community.
John MacDonald has been appointed as the new chairman of Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, which also runs King's Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield.
He is now keen to improve the presence of the trust at Newark Hospital.
Mr MacDonald said: "It is really important to engage with the community and understand their aspirations.
"2016 was a big year for the trust, with the introduction of new services such as low level breast surgery and increasing our diagnostics.
"We have MRI facilities and we will look into what services could be introduced at Newark.
"Newark Hospital is a really important part of the vision for the trust.
"There needs to be real clarity on what services are here and educate people about this as well as look into GP referrals to better promote Newark Hospital and its services."
Mr MacDonald started his role in March and for the last 25 years he has worked in several hospitals including three major teaching hospitals in both chairman and chief executive roles.
Prior to this he worked abroad in the Middle East, Pakistan, India and Africa in the economic and banking industry.
In his early 30s, he moved back to England and worked at a management consultants before joining the NHS sector.
Mr MacDonald, who is married to Karen, a teacher, has four children, and lives in Derbyshire.
He is now looking at ways for the trust to increase its presence at Newark Hospital.
Mr MacDonald said some board of directors meetings would be held at Newark Hospital so people living in the town could also attend.
He said he wanted to engage more with the governors of the trust.
"Chairman (of the governors) Sue Holmes has done great work and although it is important to have a good relationship with them. They should challenge the work of the trust too," said Mr MacDonald.
"If some board of directors' meetings are held here, it will give members from the board the chance to visit Newark Hospital, its staff on the wards and patients."
Mr MacDonald said he recognised people's concerns over the lack of services at Newark Hospital.
"The more severe an illness, or complex, they need to be treated safely at a hospital with specialist equipment.
"In order for an Accident and Emergency department to run safely, there needs to be a consultant around the clock, more staffing and it needs to be economically viable.
"The new Urgent Care Centre, at Newark, has been a real success so far."
Mr MacDonald said he was keen for the trust to work more closely with social care, community services, local authorities and other health care services to keep patients out of hospital and in their own homes were necessary.
He added: "We are looking at working with local partnerships in the community to support people to stay in their own homes.
"It is part of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan and I am very passionate about this.
"We want to keep patients out of hospital because the longer they are in hospital the more it can affect their confidence and cause issues like muscle wasting, particularly for elderly people."
Last year, the trust was taken out of special measures by health watchdog NHS Improvement, after improving its Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating to requires improvement.
The trust was rated as inadequate in October 2015 by the CQC.
Another inspection was carried out in July last year and found that some improvements were still to be made.
Mr MacDonald praised the trust for their hard work during this "challenge time."
He said: "The trust has done incredibly well, considering a year ago they were in special measures but they came out and significant improvements were made.
"We have a stable senior management team, after years of turbulence due to several interim positions.
"The trust has been on a proactive journey and is now an exciting journey.
"We are proud of the performance of our Accident and Emergency department at King's Mill Hospital.
"Despite the NHS going through a difficult time, staff at both hospitals are very enthusiastic and the leadership should take a lot of credit for this."
Mr MacDonald is also the chairman at University Hospitals of North Midlands and will equally split his time between the two roles.
He said both trusts would benefit from shared learning and staff could learn from one another.
"The innovative ideas at King’s Mill Hospital has been really impressive, whereas the stroke service is one of the best in the country at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, run by University Hospitals of North Midlands", said Mr MacDonald.
"Shared learning is vital for both trusts to strive for the best."
