HEALTH bosses from Mid Devon Primary Care Trust said last week they were disappointed to have narrowly missed out on a three-star rating in the latest national performance ratings.
Although the PCT was pleased to have achieved two-star status for the second year running in the Healthcare Commission ratings, it was felt that penalty points for late submission of data may have cost the PCT the coveted three stars.
The PCT has consistently reported that all patients wanting to see a GP within 48 hours or a primary healthcare professional within 24 hours have been able to, but the Healthcare Commission penalised the PCT for late submission of this data on two occasions throughout the year. The PCT believes that if it was not for these penalty points it would have achieved a three-star rating.
Trust chief executive Lesley Dunaway said: ?It is tremendously upsetting that the huge efforts made by GP practices in Mid Devon to see patients within target waiting times have not been recognised in the star ratings this time round.?
However, Mrs Dunaway said the trust was nonetheless ?delighted? to have gained two-star status for the second year in a row and thanked all staff for their hard work over the year to make the award possible.
?Working within the NHS is busy and demanding, and we are fortunate to have very dedicated people in Mid Devon,? added Mrs Dunaway.
?The star ratings have been a lot tougher this year and many organisations have not done as well as before, so Mid Devon PCT is particularly pleased to have retained its two stars.?
The ratings, ranging from zero to three stars examine how each trust is doing against a number of performance indicators set out by the Healthcare Commission.
Areas where the Healthcare Commission scored the PCT well include:
l Meeting the national programme targets for women to receive cervical screening
l Caring for patients with coronary heart disease
l Encouraging older people and people ?at risk? to have a flu jab
l Encouraging people with
diabetes to have their eyes checked (retinopathy screening)
l Managing within our financial means
l The numbers of problem drug misusers in treatment
l The number of people who have given up smoking
l Improving the working lives of staff
l Meeting national standard waiting times for outpatient and inpatient treatment
l Not exceeding national maximum waiting times for A&E treatment
Areas which were highlighted as in need of improvement were:
n Collecting information on the smoking status of pregnant women and the breastfeeding status of new mums
n Delivering community equipment within seven days
n Staff opinion of some of the Trust?s human resources processes
The trust provides a wide range of community health services, runs Okehampton Community Hospital, and oversees GP dental, pharmacy and other primary care services in the area.
?Patients themselves have expressed a high level of satisfaction with many aspects of the PCT?s services in recent patient surveys, including acknowledging the community hospitals and clinics to be clean, comfortable and friendly places to be cared for,? said Mrs Dunaway.
?We have made much progress over the last eighteen months, including the opening of two new hospitals in Okehampton and Tiverton.
?These developments do not form part of the star ratings performance assessment, but they are huge achievements in themselves and make a real difference to the level of care we are able to provide in our local communities.?