Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn

Queen Elizabeth Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
Geography
Location King's Lynn, England
Organisation
Care system NHS
Hospital type District General
Affiliated university University of East Anglia, University of Cambridge
Services
Emergency department Yes
Beds 515
History
Founded 1980
Links
Website www.qehkl.nhs.uk
Lists Hospitals in England

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. It is located on the outskirts of King’s Lynn, to the eastern edge of the town. The catchment area of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital covers the West Norfolk area, South Lincolnshire and North East Cambridgeshire, an area of approximately 1500 km² and 250,000 people. The hospital has 515 beds and the Hospital employs around 2400 staff[1] and has around 100 volunteers, making it the biggest single employer in the town. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust manages the hospital.

Name

Locally the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is often known as “The QE” or “the QEH”. It is occasionally (and incorrectly) referred to as “The Queen Elizabeth II Hospital” – however, the hospital is named after Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), not the current Queen.

History

In February 1998 the Queen Mother was taken to the QE after she fractured her hip at nearby Sandringham, then later transferred to The King Edward VII Hospital in London. In January 1999, the Queen Mother was again taken to the QE Hospital after a series of nosebleeds, where they cauterised her nose. The Queen was taken to the QE Hospital in January 2003 after she had problems with her knee, where they performed a scan, and she was transferred to The King Edward VII Hospital in London for an operation to remove torn cartilage. During her Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Queen who usually spends accession day in private at Windsor Castle, opened the QE Hospital’s £1.2 million Macmillan Cancer Unit.[2] Various members of the Royal Family have visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital over the years, including Princess Anne who opened the £5 million Critical Care Unit in 2005. On 1 February 2011, the hospital was awarded Foundation Trust status.

Campus

The hospital site contains the main hospital building, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which is a two-storey building and was opened in 1980. In addition to the main hospital building, the site houses The Fermoy Unit, an adult mental health unit opened the same time as the main hospital building, The Arthur Levin Day Surgery Centre, which was opened on 11 January 1999, the Roxburgh Children’s’ Day Centre, which provides outpatient care for children and a comprehensive GUM clinic opened summer 2008. The Fermoy unit and the Arthur Levin Day Surgery Centre are both joined to the main hospital building by a long service corridor. Also on the site is the private BMI Sandringham Hospital.The main hospital building has two small shops, a modern coffee bar and upstairs restaurant for patients, visitors and staff.

Services

The Hospital provides a comprehensive range of patient services, including: cardiology, dermatology, diabetic medicine, ENT, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general medicine, general surgery, geriatric medicine, gynaecology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology, paediatric neurology, paediatrics, rheumatology, thoracic medicine, trauma and orthopaedics, upper gastrointestinal surgery and vascular surgery. It also has a full accident and emergency department, and adult mental health service based in the Fermoy Unit. thoracic surgery, neurology and plastic surgery are provided by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, in Norwich, and renal dialysis provided at the QEH is an out reach on the nephrology service in Cambridge. The hospital has MRI and CT scanners on site for imaging and diagnosis. There are 7 operating theatres and 19 inpatient wards. The wards are all named after local villages and towns. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in partnership with Norwich Medical School and the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of East Anglia is also a teaching hospital and offers facilities such as lecture theatres and two libraries for use by the students.

Performance

The Care Quality Commission formerly the Healthcare Commission reviews hospitals annually and rates a hospital on two points: “Use of Resources” (which is based on finances) and “Quality of Service” (which is based on clinical performance). These two points are rated on a scale of “weak”, “Fair”, “Good” and “Excellent”. Latest results are expected before Christmas 2009. In the 2007/08 Healthcare Commission’s review, it rated the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s “Use of Resources” as “Weak” and “Quality of Service” as “Good”. The “weak” rating for use of resources was due primarily to the hospital’s debts, now all cleared. The “good” rating for quality of service is indicative of its clinical performance and waiting times. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has good patient satisfaction rates, is nationally acknowledged for its infection control excellence and arrangements for keeping patients safe. The Critical Care Centre has consistently been rated amongst the best in the country by external ICNARC review [ICNARC Casemix Programme[3]]. It has an international reputation for the research into prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia. The Accident and Emergency department in the hospital is currently performing at 90.8% against the four-hour target.[4] The Arthur Levin Day Surgery Centre is consistently ranked amongst the top in the country. MRSA rates are now also amongst the best in the country, with the biggest reduction. Research by a consultant at the QEH, Professor Lynn Liebowitz, have led to a dramatic reduction in MRSA cases, and is now assisting the Department of Health to reduce MRSA in other hospitals.[5]

in October 2013 the Trust was warned after consistently failing to meet the national standards of quality and safety by the Care Quality Commission and put in the highest risk category.[6] It was placed in special measures by Monitor. A contingency planning team was sent to the hospital in March 2014 tasked with making recommendations to the foundation trust regulator about options for ensuring sustainable patient services at the trust.[7]

In March 2014 QEH marked two years MRSA free. [8]

It was removed from special measures in August 2015 after an inspection found “marked improvement in the quality of care being delivered”.[9]

In 2014/5 the trust was given a loan of £16.8 million by the Department of Health which is supposed to be paid back in five years.[10]

It was rated as having the lowest index of digital maturity of NHS hospital trust in England in April 2016.[11]

Finances

The hospital trust successfully applied for Foundation Status in 2010.[12] The Trust predicts a deficit of £14m in 2013-14.[13]

Fiction

Birthplace of Alan Partridge.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Services at the QEH".
  2. ↑ "Queen's Golden Jubilee". BBC News. 6 February 2002. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  3. ↑ "ICNARC CaseMix Programme". Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25055444
  5. ↑ "MRSA Rates". BBC News. 17 January 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "NHS Trusts put in risk categories - full list". Independent. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Monitor to send contingency planning team into King's Lynn". Health Service Journal. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/graphic_praise_after_three_norfolk_hospitals_pass_two_years_as_mrsa_free_1_3423412
  9. ↑ "King's Lynn removed from special measures but with Monitor warning". Health Service JOurnal. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "11 trusts whose DH bailouts were converted to loans". Health Service Journal. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "First digital maturity index scores in full". Health Service Journal. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Hospital Foundation Status".
  13. ↑ "More than a third of trusts predict year-end deficit". Local Government Chronicle. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

Coordinates: 52°45′24″N 0°26′50″E / 52.7566°N 0.4471°E / 52.7566; 0.4471

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