Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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{{Infobox NHS organisation
| name = Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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| type = NHS hospital trust
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| hospitals = Leighton Hospital
| chair = Dennis Dunn
| chief_exec = Ian Moston
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| staff = c.3,500
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Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT) is an acute hospital trust in Cheshire. It runs Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Victoria Infirmary in Northwich, and Elmhurst Intermediate Care Centre in Winsford. MCHFT was established as an NHS Trust in April 1991, and became an NHS Foundation Trust in April 2008.{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.mcht.nhs.uk/about-us |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |language=en}} The trust is currently led by Chair of the Board of Directors Dennis Dunn and CEO Ian Moston.{{Cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=https://www.mcht.nhs.uk/about-us/board-directors |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |language=en}}
Registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Trust provides acute, maternity, child health and intermediate care services to a population of approximately 300,000 living in and around Alsager, Crewe, Congleton, Knutsford, Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich, Sandbach, and Winsford.
Performance
File:Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustA&E performance 2005-18.png Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/]]
The CQC made a comprehensive inspection of the Trust and its three sites in October 2014. Its report, published in January 2015, gave the Trust an overall "good" rating.{{Cite web |title=All inspections: Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Care Quality Commission |url=https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RBT/reports |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=www.cqc.org.uk}}
Leighton Hospital Maternity Services received the Mothercare Award for Midwifery Service of the Year from the Royal College of Midwives in 2015.{{Cite web |title=Leighton's maternity unit named best in the country |url=https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/11837852.leightons-maternity-unit-named-best-in-the-country/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Northwich Guardian |date=5 March 2015 |language=en}} That same year it also achieved full accreditation from UNICEF's Baby Friendly Initiative{{Cite web |title='Baby friendly' Leighton Hospital celebrates hat-trick of honours |url=https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/13315010.baby-friendly-leighton-hospital-celebrates-hat-trick-honours/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Northwich Guardian |date=5 June 2015 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Mid Cheshire Hospitals receives baby friendly award |url=https://www.mcht.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/mid-cheshire-hospitals-receives-baby-friendly-award |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |language=en}} and Level 3 status (the highest available) from the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts.
In 2012, CHKS awarded the Trust its ‘Most Improved Trust in the Country’ award,{{Cite web |title=CHKS - Insight for better healthcare |url=https://www.chks.co.uk/Mid-Cheshire-Hospitals |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=www.chks.co.uk}} recognising progress made by its staff and services. In May 2014, the Trust was named as one of the best in the country for the third year in a row in the CHKS 40Top Hospitals award{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}.
In the early 2010s the Trust had "higher than expected" mortality rates, and work took place to identify and address the causes. When the Health and Social Care Information Centre published its mortality data in July 2014, the Trust had returned to the "as expected" range. The Trust also uses the Risk Adjusted Mortality Index (RAMI), and worked to make consistent improvement in this area; the RAMI figures covering the twelve months to July 2014 suggested the Trust was performing better than the national average.
In 2015, the Health Service Journal named the Trust as one of the top hundred NHS trusts to work for. At that time, 66% of its 3,003 full time equivalent staff recommended it as a place to work.{{cite news|title=HSJ reveals the best places to work in 2015|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/leadership/best-places-to-work/hsj-reveals-the-best-places-to-work-in-2015/5087434.article#.VgJD8ejkJv4|accessdate=23 September 2015|publisher=Health Service Journal|date=7 July 2015}}
Facilities
Spring 2014 saw the first patients treated in the new Theatre suite at Leighton Hospital. Part of the £22.8million project which also saw the creation of a new Critical Care unit, the new Theatres offer opportunities to further develop existing ways of working in a way that will maximise the benefits of new theatre designs such as barn theatres and integrated theatres.
In 2018 the trust applied for £1.4 million in capital funding from NHS Improvement to fund a portable ward next to the A&E department, which is overcrowded, but funding was refused when the trust said this would not lead to a 50% reduction in breaches of the Four Hour Emergency Target over winter.{{cite news |title=Patients will suffer after NHS Improvement withholds funds says CEO |url=https://www.hsj.co.uk/7023643.article |accessdate=30 November 2018 |publisher=Health Service Journal |date=23 October 2018}}
In 2022 the outstanding maintenance bill was £280 million, the sixth largest in the English NHS.{{cite news |last1=Appleby |first1=John |title=Chart of the week: The cost of NHS backlog maintenance hits an all-time high |url=https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/the-cost-of-nhs-backlog-maintenance-hits-an-all-time-high |access-date=11 November 2022 |publisher=Nuffield Trust |date=11 November 2022}}
It is planning a joint electronic patient record system with East Cheshire NHS Trust using Meditech's Expanse, which is cloud based and should operate from 2024.{{cite news |title=East Cheshire and Mid Cheshire to launch joint EPR in 2024 |url=https://www.digitalhealth.net/2022/07/east-cheshire-and-mid-cheshire-joint-epr-2024/ |access-date=14 November 2022 |publisher=Digital Health |date=7 July 2022}}
Relationship with private sector
The Trust uses BMI Healthcare's South Cheshire Hospital to help with elective surgery capacity problems, usually in the winter. The two buildings are connected by a covered corridor.{{cite news|title=Commissioning supplement: External providers can lend a hand|url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/resource-centre/supplements/commissioning-supplement-external-providers-can-lend-a-hand/5083353.article#.VUMuwoq4_eM|accessdate=1 May 2015|publisher=Health Service Journal|date=19 March 2015}} It was announced in February 2019 that the Trust planned to acquire the 32-bed hospital, which stands adjacent to Leighton Hospital, near Crewe.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-47258387 |title=NHS trust moves to take over private hospital |author=Jennie Aitken |work=Latest updates: Staffordshire and Cheshire |publisher=BBC |date=20 February 2019 |accessdate=21 February 2019}}