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NHS’s first female CEO brings ‘wealth of experience’ to role
Amanda Pritchard – for the past two years the service’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) – has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of NHS England.
The first woman in the health service’s history to hold the post, she succeeds Sir Simon Stevens. As NHS Chief Executive, she will be responsible for an annual budget of over £130 billion. She said: “I am honoured to lead the NHS, particularly as the first woman Chief Executive of an organisation whose staff are more than three-quarters female.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Over the past eighteen months NHS staff have faced their greatest challenge, and have proven time and again that they deserve the nation’s gratitude for their fortitude and commitment. I thank Lord Stevens for his invaluable contribution during this time. During his seven-year tenure he has been relentless in his tenacity and dedication to the NHS.
“Amanda Pritchard brings an unparalleled wealth and depth of
experience, having worked in the NHS for nearly 25 years, and at this crucial moment for our country, frontline staff will value her operational experience and steady hand.”
As NHS Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Pritchard has overseen NHS operational performance and delivery, and implementation of service transformation and patient care improvements set out in the NHS Long Term Plan. The NHS COO is also accountable to the NHS Improvement Board as NHS Improvement’s designated accountable officer with regulatory responsibility for Monitor.
Amanda Pritchard began her NHS career as a graduate management trainee in 1997 after studying at Oxford University, and has held a variety of other NHS management positions. Before joining NHS England and NHS Improvement in 2019, she was Chief Executive of London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and Deputy Chief Executive at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.
Planning permission granted for rehabilitation ‘centre of excellence’
Southampton City Council has granted conditional planning permission for a scheme to create a 50-bed rehabilitation unit for patients across Southampton in a new £19.5 m two-storey wing at Western Community Hospital off Tebourba Way. Providing purpose-built rehabilitation space at the heart of the community, the new facility will ‘enable a greater number of people to be cared for in fresh, modern facilities – enhancing the patient experience, and providing an improved working environment for staff’. It will replace two existing rehabilitation wards at the Royal South Hants Hospital in Southampton – increasing beds from 43 to 50, and doubling the number of single rooms with en-suite facilities. Sue Harriman, Chief Executive at Solent
NHS Trust, said: “This is a major milestone in our plans to centralise and future-proof our rehabilitation facilities for patients across the Southampton area. We are extremely excited about delivering this project, which will transform existing facilities, and have significant benefits for the wider health system, as well as our local community. While delivery of the project is still subject to final funding approval from the Department of Health and Social Care, this is an important and significant step forward for the project, our patients, and staff.”
Demolition of an existing wing at the Western Community Hospital is expected to start next spring to make space for the new wing, with the scheme taking an estimated 18 months to complete. The new unit will feature construction and cladding/roofing materials to complement the site’s existing buildings. Clinical staff, patients, and carers, have had input into the plans, which use greenery and natural light to boost morale and aid recovery. The image shows an artist’s impression of the new rehabilitation facility.
14 Health Estate Journal September 2021
Properly maintain tertiary power systems
The healthcare sector has seen rapidly advancing technology, which, while transforming the way patients are diagnosed and treated, puts immense strain on ageing infrastructures. “Throw into the mix the added pressures that COVID-19 is putting onto the sensitive equipment and systems, adds Power Control, ‘the UK’s largest privately-owned, independent UPS and power protection specialist’, “and there is a risk of equipment failure from power interruptions.”
The company added: “Simply installing a tertiary power such as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is not enough to mitigate these risks. To enhance dependability, routine testing and maintenance are critical.”
The UPS installation will be part of a critical infrastructure plan, and must safeguard the load during a mains failure. To keep the UPS in optimum condition, HTM guidance recommends routine preventative maintenance every six months. The checks should include: n Functional tests of the UPS, inverters, and batteries.
n Cleaning of any ventilation. n Ensuring that batteries can hold a fully charged state while the UPS is on ‘bypass’.
n Batteries and UPS should be tested online and monitored for 10 minutes.
n Observation of the battery voltage and current-recharge conditions.
n Checks on the installation environment.
Power Control added: “Hospital environments are often not ideal for UPS systems. The heat and humidity of the rooms where they are installed can cause such equipment to age more quickly, and the batteries to require more attention. To ensure full compliance with HTM guidelines, a maintenance contract with a trusted supplier should be in place. A supplier experienced in servicing and maintaining UPS systems will reduce intrusion time, and make the maintenance calendar more manageable.”
©Sonnemann Toon architects
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