Clive Thompson CBE, Chairman of Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust, said:

“At a first reading of this years ‘Healthcheck’ it appears to reflect an adverse turn in the booking performance and appointment arrangements for some of our services but does not represent an adverse turn in the quality of the patient care provided.

“In most areas we have achieved the national targets and in others improved, as documented in our achievement of the ‘core standards’.    It is therefore disappointing that we have slipped on the quality ratings.   Some of the scores are surprising for us and we will be looking in great detail at the full analysis made by the Healthcare Commission as part of our learning process. This is a report from which we are determined to learn and a team is already at work to identify the key issues and put a plan in place to address them.

“We do not agree that we are weak at managing our finances.   In three out of the last four years we have balanced our ‘books’.  For 2006/07 on a turnover of £179m, with tough ‘turnaround programme’ savings of £11.3m, we reported a surplus of £1.1m.    But, because of the scoring system, we are penalised by the one year – 2005/06 - in which we did not balance our ‘books’, and it should be noted that this will be reflected in the 2007/08 ratings as well.

“There is always more that we can do to improve patient care and we are doing so against a backdrop of continuing change.  Day in, day out, our staff are dedicated to the care of patients and we should recognise that in most areas the Trust has achieved the national targets and improved in some.   However we are not complacent and I have no doubt that staff here will be keen to make any changes necessary to ensure that our rating for quality of service improves for the 2008 Healthcheck.”