Andrew Dismore

Following the takeover of Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals into the new merged Royal Free Hospital Trust on 1^st July,  Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly member, City Hall Health Committee member,  and parliamentary candidate for Hendon met David Sloman Chief Executive of the Royal Free Hospitals Trust  on Friday 4^th July, to discuss Mr Sloman’s  plans for  the new merged hospital.

After the meeting , Mr Dismore said:

“I was very pleased that David agreed to meet with me so soon after the new arrangements began, to outline his plans for the future to me.

“This  takeover is a big step, and long overdue. I advocated the merger of Royal Free and Barnet many years ago, in preference to Barnet merging with Chase Farm, and I think hindsight has supported my then opinion.

“There is no doubt that there are serious problems at Barnet , as has been widely reported previously, not the least being  the huge backlog in treating patients due to inadequate record keeping and management controls. I agreed with David, it has to be a top  priority to bottom out just how many patients  have been overlooked or have had  their treatment delayed,  and that  plans are put in place to catch up with this backlog.  There is no doubt in my mind that the former management of Barnet Chase Farm bear the responsibility  for this.

“It is clear that across the merged trust area , there is underused operating theatre capacity, including additionally the operating theatres at Edgware. It is important that these expensive  facilities are fully utilised to help bring these inherited delays under control, but there can be little doubt that it is going to take quite a while to achieve this.

“Barnet Hospital’s backlog is an Augean stable and it will need a Hercules to clean it out. David’s plan to bring the successful Royal Free governance model to Barnet and Chase Farm will be a big step towards  achieving this. It is also an advantage, that the merged hospitals  will all three be using the same computer records systems.

“On a further positive note, real progress has been made in dealing with A and E waiting times, and with a planned  expansion of the A and E at the Royal Free, I hope that we can avoid problems in the forthcoming winter.

“I was impressed by David Sloman’s ‘can do’ optimism, and the reports I have had of enthusiasm  from the clinicians to make the new arrangements work well, for the benefit of patients.

“What is important now, is to give the new management  some breathing space to implement their reforms and to review progress in a few months’ time.

“I am pleased that David has  agreed to regular meetings  with me, to this end.”