Queen elizabeth hospital

Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital made hundreds of thousands of pounds by charging staff for parking last year, it has been revealed.Figures released by the NHS show the trust raked in £370,150 in the year to March from charges and penalty fines incurred by NHS workers parking across all its sites.NHS trusts across England made a combined total of almost £70 million from staff parking charges over the same period.Unite, a union which represents around 100,000 health workers, has slammed the “scandalous” figures, which it said amounted to a “tax on hard-pressed” employees.Sarah Carpenter, national officer for health at Unite, said: “We would like a situation where dedicated NHS staff, who don’t earn a fortune, don’t have to pay to park their cars to go to work to look after the sick, the vulnerable and the injured 365 days a year.”British Medical Association council chair, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, added that it was … [Read more...] about Parking charges on King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital staff made £370,150 last year

Officials at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital have agreed to increase its nurse agency staff in order to address its current shortfall in ward staffing.Members of the QEH's board of directors made the decision at a meeting on Tuesday, where they also agreed to close some beds in a flexible way, as a temporary solution to address a long-term shortage in nursing capacity.The board had four options to consider, no change to ward configuration – continue as is but increase the number of agency nurses contracted through the Thornbury agency, close a surgical ward (Marham), close a medical ward (Oxborough) or a hybrid of all of the options.They decided to combine options one and four, meaning that they will continue as they are currently are, but will reduce some elective capacity and some medical capacity when needed.Chief executive Jon Green said: "The board made the decision today being very conscious of maintaining safe levels and dignified levels of staffing on our emergency wards … [Read more...] about King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital bosses agree to increase temporary nurse numbers to address staff shortages

Removing services would do significant long-term damage to Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), politicians and staff representatives fear.The warning comes as members of the QEH’s board prepare to consider proposals for short-term service suspensions, including halting elective surgery and cancer treatment at a meeting today.Papers published yesterday said urgent measures were needed to address a long-term shortage in nursing capacity, which had worsened during the summer.They suggested a temporary closure of the QEH’s Marham Ward, for up to six months, would be the most sustainable option to pursue without wider NHS support, though a combination of several measures is their preferred approach.But North West Norfolk MP Sir Henry Bellingham has said he will fight any attempt to halt those services.He stopped short of saying they represented a step towards the potential future downgrading of the hospital, but added: “You’re looking for short-term fixes, … [Read more...] about Warning as King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital ponders service cuts