RCN Eastern warns on hospitals' secrecy
Published: 21 May 2012
21.05.12 Information obtained by the Royal College of Nursing in the Eastern region reveals a number of NHS Foundation Trusts have yet to declare when they will lift a veil of secrecy around their Board meetings.
RCN Eastern used the Freedom of Information Act to gather information from the 18 acute NHS hospital trusts across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire about how open, or otherwise, their Board meetings and papers were to the public.
In June 2011 Health Secretary Andrew Lansley announced that NHS Foundation Trusts would be required to open Board meetings to the public and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 now makes that a requirement.
RCN Director for the Eastern region, Karen Webb, welcomed signs that a number of NHS Foundation Trusts have embraced the idea of greater openness and are making previously closed Board meetings open.
“A number of scandals in the NHS in recent years have highlighted a lack of openness as a key factor in failings that led to poor patient care. NHS Foundation Trusts have historically been allowed to hold their Board meetings in secret. To their credit not all have done so and we are pleased to see a move toward more openness”, she said.
The local NHS Foundation Trusts who are have moved from private Board meetings to public meetings are:
• Luton and Dunstable University Hospital moved to public board meetings in April 2012
• James Paget University Hospital moves to public board meetings in May 2012
NHS Foundation Trusts who already have public Board meetings include:
• Peterborough and Stamford Hospital – eight public Board meetings a year
• West Suffolk Hospital – monthly public Board meetings
• Colchester – public Board meetings every two months
• Basildon – monthly public Board meetings
• Southend – monthly public Board meetings
NHS Foundation Trusts who have yet to commit to a date for public Board meetings include:
• Cambridge University Hospitals
• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals
• Papworth Hospital
The three hospital trusts above said they are currently considering the implications of the new Act and timescales. Karen Webb urged hospitals to embrace greater openness in the interests of good governance and public confidence in local services.
“NHS hospitals are publicly funded and serve us all. Both the public and nursing staff working in hospitals have a real stake in understanding how the people at the top make decisions on their behalf and how their local hospitals are performing in relation to the quality of patient care, staffing issues and the financial position of their hospitals.
“The Health Secretary has set out the need for greater transparency and has embraced a patient-centred philosophy of ‘no decisions about us, without us’. We are concerned some hospitals may wish to pick and choose what the public gets to see and appear to be reluctant to lift the veil of secrecy that their decision-making Boards have chosen to impose.
“Secret Board meetings inhibit appropriate scrutiny by the public, staff, Governors, patient groups, and the media. We applaud those hospitals who have embraced greater openness and we will challenge those that do not,” warned Karen.
The RCN also requested, under the Freedom of Information Act, the latest set of Board papers from hospital trusts. The following hospitals did not make their Board papers public:
• Cambridge University Hospitals (provided a heavily redacted copy of Board minutes but not the Board papers)
• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals (did not provide any papers but referred to monthly Quality and Safety report, Governors’ papers, and annual reports)
The Foundation Trusts above (CUH and NNUH) cited a number of exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act as reasons why they would not make Board papers public. The reasons for keeping Board papers secret included the need to protect personal information, commercial secrecy, and the inhibition of free and frank exchange of views.
Cambridgeshire
1. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS FT Board minutes only provided and heavily redacted. Papers not on website Considering implications/timescale for public meetings in light of Health and Social Care Act
2. Peterborough and Stamford NHS FT Board papers on website. Eight public meetings a year. Dates available on website
3. Hinchingbrooke NHS Trust Board papers on website. Public meetings on a quarterly basis. Dates available on website
4. Papworth NHS FT Board papers provided with redactions. Some papers witheld. Considering implications/timescale for public meetings in light of Health and Social Care Act. Board dates provided but not on website.
Suffolk
5. Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust Board papers provided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly. Dates available on website
6. West Suffolk NHS FT Board papers provided on website. Public meetings monthly. Dates available on website
Norfolk
7. Queen Elizabeth NHS FT Board papers provided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly. Dates available on website
8. Norfolk and Norwich NHS FT Board papers not provided – referred to Governors’ papers, Quality and Safety monthly papers. Considering implications/timescale for public meetings in light of Health and Social Care Act. Dates provided but not on website
9. James Paget NHS FT Board papers provided on website from May. Board meetings were private but will be public from May 2012. Dates on website from May 2012.
Hertfordshire
10. East and North Herts NHS Trust Board papers provided on website. Public meetings monthly. Dates available on website
11. West Herts NHS Trust Provided on website Yes - monthly Dates available on website
Bedfordshire
12. Luton and Dunstable NHS FT Provided on website from April. Were private but public from April 2012. Dates available on website
13. Bedford NHS Trust Board papers provided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly. Dates available on website
Essex
14. Colchester NHS FT Board papers provided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly. Dates available on website
15. Basildon NHS FT Board papers provided on website. Public meetings monthly. Dates available on website
16. Southend NHS FT Board papers provided on website. Public meetings monthly. Dates available on website
17. Mid Essex NHS Trust Board papers pProvided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly Dates available on website
18. Princess Alexandra NHS Trust Board papers provided on website. Public meetings bi-monthly. Dates available on website.