Northern Beaches Hospital’s CEO Andrew Newton to visit GP surgeries to discuss concerns
The new CEO of Northern Beaches Hospital says he plans to meet with GPs face-to-face to discuss their concerns, after some have begun referring to other hospitals because they’ve lost confidence.
Manly
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The Northern Beaches Hospital’s new CEO Andrew Newton said he plans to visit as many GP surgeries as it takes to work through problems with disgruntled family doctors.
It follows a series of issues raised by GPs at the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the operation and management of the hospital.
A number of submissions from GPs expressed concern over the lack of communication, standard of care at the hospital and the timeliness and quality of the discharge summaries.
Some also said that in certain cases they were referring to Royal North Shore Hospital.
“Discussions I’ll be having with GPs will be what can we do better?” he said. “I am happy to meet as many as I need to.
“I’ve got a meeting with the Primary Health Network next week to see where they suggest I prioritise those visits.
“I’m not too precious that it shouldn’t be the role of the hospital manager.”
“It helps build the reputation of the hospital, it helps gives GPs the confidence to refer patients to the hospital, but it will also help with closing the loop as we discharge patients.”
Mr Newton said while the IT side had improved, staff needed training so that the quality of the summaries were better.
He also revealed a director of digital health had been appointed to improve the hospital’s working relationships with NSW Health and GP practices. Three weeks ago an exchange was set up to better share health records with NSW Health.
“We are the first private run hospital to open what’s called the Health Information Exchange,” he said.
Mr Newton — who started his career as a theatre nurse in the UK and has managed hospitals in Australia for 19 years — took up his new role at the private-public hospital seven weeks ago.
The previous CEO Deborah Latta resigned just weeks after the hospital opened.
Staff and patients reported that there was a lack of medical supplies and not enough staff.
Over the past year most of the hospital’s top executives followed Ms Latta out the door.
Other damaging reports which have emerged include an incident where the wrong part of a bowel of a cancer patient was removed and another where a patient fell off the operating table.
Nr Newton, who lives between a unit in Warriewood and his family home in Parkes, said his other mission was to prove to the community that the hospital was “no longer in crisis mode”, following a troubled first year.
He said the first few months were quite “traumatic” for staff but now there is a positive culture.
“When you speak to people now they use language like ‘the haze has cleared’, that it is ‘much calmer’,” he said.
“They say they’re able to look days and weeks ahead to do planning, not just what’s happening in the next hour.”
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Mr Newton, who was asked to apply for the role, said he wanted to improve the hospital’s standing in the community and he was willing to get out of the office and meet people to discuss their concerns.
“I think we’re in a place now where we can stop focusing on what’s inside these four walls and get out in the community and ask, ‘What are we not providing?”
He said he would hope in a year’s time that any recommendations that come from the inquiry and are accepted by Government are well in place to see that process put to bed.
And, that the hospital would be known for in terms of clinical innovative practice.
He said in 2020 they wanted to be working in strategic planning, rather than being in reactive mode in 2019.