Sectors

Acute Hospitals/NHS Trusts

Crisis and Dispute Resolution for Acute Hospitals and other NHS Trusts

More than any other sector, healthcare faces unrelenting pressure to achieve service targets within increasingly tight financial constraints. These targets are as likely to originate in the political as the clinical arena - availability of cancer drugs and access to fertility treatment are two recent examples.

Close and unremitting media scrutiny means that corporate reputation, patient confidence and staff morale are quickly affected when governance and risk management systems fail. The impact upon efficiency and reputation may be precipitate and prolonged.

Iodem Health has assembled the diverse range of skills necessary to implement long term resolution of crises and disputes. It distinguishes itself because it has the "industry" knowledge, motivation and flexibility to deliver practical, effective services with unrivalled speed and efficiency.

Symptoms that may indicate underlying problems in acute hospitals include:-

• Intra- and inter-departmental disputes;
  
• Intra- and inter-speciality disputes;
  
• Poor performance of individuals and/or departments;
  
• Poor conduct;
  
• Disputes between clinicians and managers - often over performance targets;
  
• Fraud - including manipulation of waiting lists and altering clinical definitions and diagnoses to meet targets and contract figures; charging for NHS services;
  
• Private patient queue jumping and other abuses of NHS facilities;
  
• Disputes between trusts and strategic health authorities.

Tool Kit

Iodem has developed a tool box of services to enable it to provide effective, long-term solutions. It works closely with its clients' managers and senior clinicians to select the tools that match the needs and requirements of individual acute hospitals and NHS trusts. The tool kit includes:-

• Investigations into allegations of poor performance or conduct, either at individual clinician or departmental level;
  
• Statistical audit and analysis of key data e.g. HES, NAO, HCC review, Dr Foster;
  
• Mediation service for inter personal disputes and inter departmental difficulties;Review service for patient complaints;
  
• Risk management advisory service;
  
• Clinical governance support, including framework development, accountability mechanisms and reporting;
  
• One to one support for individuals with performance or conduct problems including coaching and targeted retraining;
  
• Review of existing clinical governance, clinical risk and quality improvement arrangements;