Deficit hospital brings in new managers

THREE theatre managers at Barnsley Hospital have been put on “gardening leave” after it was revealed their department was running at a 2.2m deficit.

An external management team has now been brought in, which has been tasked with first “stabilising the situation” and then improving the department’s performance.

Hospital staff, however, are now fearing job losses as the team tries to tackle the financial shortfall.

Unions have blamed the growing deficit, up from 400,000 last year, on the use of agency staff and locums to cover staff shortages.

Unison official Rianne Johnson said: “People are feeling very unsettled and scared. They’re turning up to work to find that their managers have suddenly disappeared.”

A hospital spokesman said a recovery plan had not succeeded and it had therefore been agreed to “bring in externalspecialised supportto manage the division and its performance”.

They added: “A review of the performance of the surgical division, which isforecast to produce asignificant deficit in the current financial year, has led to the board decidinga different set of management skill sets are required to prevent the deficitworsening and alsohaving a long-termadverse effect on the rest of the organisation.

“We can assure patients and their relatives there will be no effect on the first-class services and care they receive, which are always our top priority.

“In terms of thethree senior hospital staff managers directly affected, the Trust recognises this is a difficult situation andtalks are ongoing with them to reach an amiable resolution over identifying appropriate alternative roles within the organisation.”