East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Encyclopedia
| East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust | |
|---|---|
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| Type of Trust | |
| NHS Trust (Acute) | |
| Serves | |
| East Lancashire, England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
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| Beds | |
| Royal Blackburn Hospital | 668 |
| Burnley General Hospital | 327 |
| Pendle Community Hospital | 72 |
| Total Beds | 1067 |
| Emergency Facilities | |
Royal Blackburn Hospital
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| Burnley General Hospital
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| Trust Details | |
| Employees | 7000 |
| Chief Executive | Diane Whittingham |
| Links | |
| Website | Trust website |
| Wiki-Links | List of NHS Trusts |
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is an NHS hospital trust
NHS Hospital Trust
An NHS hospital trust, also known as an acute trust is an NHS trust that provides secondary health services within the English National Health Service and in NHS Wales. Hospital trusts are commissioned to provide these services by NHS primary care trusts....
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, part of the NHS North West
NHS North West
NHS North West is a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operates in the North West region, which is coterminous with the local government office region....
strategic health authority
NHS Strategic Health Authority
NHS strategic health authorities are part of the structure of the National Health Service in England. Each SHA is responsible for enacting the directives and implementing fiscal policy as dictated by the Department of Health at a regional level. In turn each SHA area contains various NHS trusts...
. It was formed in 2003 as the result of a locally controversial, cost saving merger of Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (BHRV) NHS Trust and Burnley Health Care NHS Trust, first announced in 1999. The trust covers the local government districts of Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside.-Formation:...
, Burnley
Burnley (borough)
Burnley is a local government district of Lancashire, England, with the status of a non-metropolitan district and borough. It has an area of and a population of , and is named for its largest town, Burnley. The borough is bounded by Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Pendle, Rossendale — all in Lancashire...
, Pendle
Pendle
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...
, Hyndburn
Hyndburn
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....
, Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
, and Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...
. A total area of 474 mi2, with a population of
Hospitals
The Trust's two major bases are the Royal Blackburn Hospital, and the Burnley General Hospital. The Trust's headquarters and the majority of management is based at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, the larger of the two.The Trust Manages 3 Hospitals in total:
- Royal Blackburn Hospital
- Burnley General Hospital
- Pendle Community Hospital
A fourth hospital Rossendale General, was shut down over a 4 year period, finally closing in September 2010.
The Trust also provides services for, and deals with: The Accrington Victoria Hospital, Clitheroe Hospital and the Longridge Community Hospital, which are part of the East Lancashire Teaching Primary Care Trust.
Departments
The Trust operates the following departments:- Breast Surgery
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
- CardiologyCardiologyCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
- DermatologyDermatologyDermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
- Paediatrics / Child Health
- Emergency Department
- Accident and Emergency
- Intensive Care UnitIntensive Care Unitthumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
- High Dependency Unit
- Urgent Care Centre
- ENTOtolaryngologyOtolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
(Ear, Nose and Throat) - General Medicine
- General SurgeryGeneral surgeryGeneral surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
- GynaecologyGynaecologyGynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
- NeurologyNeurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
- OphthalmologyOphthalmologyOphthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
- OralMouthThe mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
& Maxillo-Facial - Orthopaedics
- RheumatologyRheumatologyRheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
- UrologyUrologyUrology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...
Emergency services
The Trust controversially closed the Accident and Emergency department at Burnley General Hospital in November 2007, replacing the department with an Urgent Care Centre, to treat less serious emergencies, whilst more critical cases would have to travel (by ambulance) to the Accident and Emergency department at the Royal Blackburn Hospital. The Royal Blackburn Hospital also has an Urgent Care Centre in a separate building outside its own A&E department.This has enabled the Accident and Emergency department at Royal Blackburn to concentrate on the more serious cases from across the Trust, for which it is better equipped, with emergency theatres and an Intensive Care Unit. Following this move, a Helipad was constructed several meters from the entrance to the Accident and Emergency Department at Blackburn, so some critically ill/injured patients could be airlifted to the department by the North West Air Ambulance
North West Air Ambulance
The North West Air Ambulance is the helicopter emergency medical service that covers the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It is a registered charity.-History:The charity has existed since 1999...
charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
.
Hospital Refurbishment
The Trust has undergone a large amount of change in recent years. The Blackburn Royal Infirmary (BRI), which also housed Blackburn's only A&E department was decommissioned in the summer of 2006, and a new hospital building was built at the existing Queens Park Hospital (QPH) site in the town, so to merge the two sites into a single hospital for Blackburn. This meant the moving of many departments, and much publicity was made about the moving of the Accident and Emergency departments, so to avoid public confusion of the exact time when the A&E at BRI shut, and the A&E at the newly merged Royal Blackburn Hospital site opened.Also, much consolidation has come into effect since the merging of the two original trusts. This has involved the closure of wards and departments at the Burnley General Hospital, with much speculation of the site's belittlement. Despite this, a new building was completed at the Hospital in late 2007 (known as Phase 5), and other buildings at the site are due to be rebuilt. The Burnley General Hospital still remains a major asset to the trust, this was observed by the Trust's Chief Executive, Marie Burnham, in response to the aforementioned speculations of the Hospital being made significantly smaller.
Shuttle Buses
Since the consolidation of many departments, patients have recently been required to attend clinics at a different site from their local hospital. Also, staff frequently move between the Blackburn and Burnley hospitals to go about their work. Because of this, a free shuttle bus has been introduced between sites,using the M65
M65
M65 or M-65 may refer to:* Iveco LMV, an Italian-designed four-wheel drive tactical vehicle in service with several countries* M 65 105mm Recoilless Rifle, a Yugoslavian recoilless rifle* M-65 , a Michigan state highway...
to quickly shuttle between both hospitals. The service runs at a frequency of roughly 20 minutes.
Foundation Trust Application
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is in the process of applying to be a Foundation NHS Trust (See NHS Foundation TrustNHS Foundation Trust
An NHS foundation trust is part of the National Health Service in England and has gained a degree of independence from the Department of Health and local NHS strategic health authority.Foundation Trusts are represented by the , .-Function:...
). This would give greater powers over budgets and spending, and would allow the local public, and staff to be members, giving members a voice on issues in the management of the Trust. The Application began in 2007, but was hampered by the resignation of the then current Chief Executive, Jo Cubbon. The earliest that the Trust hoped be authorised as a Foundation Trust was in early 2009. As at February 2010, this has not taken place. The trust appear to remain committed to this goal and produce regular newsletters regarding this. http://www.elht.nhs.uk/pdf/InTouch05.pdf