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Today's Date

Changes at Alder Hey

Since the last newsletter there have been major changes in the management at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.

The Chairman of the Hospital Trust, Frank Taylor, was sacked by the health minister, Lord Hunt, and the Chief Executive, Hilary Rowland, and Acting Director of Operational Services, Karen England, were both sent off on extended leave.

The new temporary Chairman is Judith Greensmith who was Chairman of Liverpool Health Authority. One of her first tasks was to attend a committee meeting of PITY II to hear, first hand, some of the problems we have had.

The Acting Chief Executive is Tony Bell who was seconded from his post of Director of Joint Commissioning at Liverpool Health Authority. Tony is a nurse by profession.

A Project Manager has also been appointed to manage all the issues around organ retention and return. She is Kate Jackson, who has been seconded from her post as Director of Primary Care at Morecambe Bay Health Authority.

Kate also came along to a committee meeting and is keen to work with PITY II and other families. A serious incident project board has been set up to co-ordinate the organ retention issues. This has been meeting fortnightly since 18th April. Jan Robinson and Tracy Brannan are on the board to put a parents' perspective into things, and Wendy Natale is also on to represent the Community Health Council.

Draft notes of the project board, and minutes when they are published, are sent to all of our co-ordinators, so if you want to know what is being discussed ask either your co-ordinator or one of the committee. They are also setting up a Families Liaison Group to try and improve communications and the handling of the situation. Nominations from PITY II were requested via co-ordinators and these names have been passed on to the hospital who is arranging the first meeting. Nominations were Joan Wheeler, Alice Proctor, Jeff Harris, Christine Woods, Tracey Fabiani, Christine Austin, Ed Bradley, and Pauline O'Hare.

You may have heard that there was a meeting at the hospital of some parents and wondered why you weren't told about it. The hospital requested a meeting (late Friday afternoon, 12th of May, for a meeting the following Tuesday) with the committee after they were overwhelmed by requests for information resulting from the revelations about the extent of individual organ retention, and different information being given to different families.

Over that weekend staff on the helpline told some parents about the meeting. Some parents who were outside the hospital supporting Eddie Allen in his protest also came into the meeting. There were probably about 30 parents in total. We are sorry that the opportunity was not opened up to everyone, but it was the hospital's meeting, not ours.

 

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