North Cumbria NHS: Challenges facing new trust chair

North Cumbria Integrated Care began recruiting a new chairperson after Steven Morgan stepped down from the role due to ill health.

Governors of the trust will make the selection in the process to find his replacement, which is currently underway.

Steven Morgan, who made the decision to step down from the role of chairperson in October due to ill health. (Image: Supplied)

Governors are volunteers, elected to represent patients' interests in the trust.

The successful candidate for the role of chairperson, would oversee "the strategic direction and culture of the organisation," form partnerships locally and hold the Board of Directors to account on performance.

A new trust chair, appointed for two to four years, will work three days per week on a salary of £51,400 per annum.

The successful candidate will need to navigate a number of challenges, both unique to NCIC and those seen across the country.

Recruitment

The Urgent Treatment Centre in Keswick, which is currently seeing persistent staffing issues. (Image: Newsquest)

Directors are working to address a staffing crisis in the trust.

The new chairperson's responsibility to engage with the community in Cumbria could be key to the success of the trust's recruitment efforts.

Speaking to the News & Star in December, Chief Executive Officer Trudie Davies said that NCIC must "engage with a very senior clinically expert workforce that is actually prepared to relocate and live here," whilst working with schools, universities and organisations "to really sell why people should come and live in Cumbria."

Treatment waits

A hospital ward. (Image: File)

NCIC directors recently redirected funding to address priority issues, one of which is the number of patients waiting 52 weeks or more for elective treatment after a referral.

NHS England had hoped to eliminate instances of patients waiting 52 weeks for treatment by March 2025, with trusts expected to begin treatment for the majority of their patients within 18 weeks.

However, a number of trusts are struggling to curb 52 week waits, including NCIC which saw a rise in instances from 1407 in August to 1549 in September.

Directors hope that redirected funds will bring the number of patients waiting 52 weeks or more down to 1.4 per cent by March 2026.

Abuse of staff

A graphic showing staff of North Cumbria Integrated Care, from the trust's HUMAN campaign. (Image: NCIC)

The new chairperson of NCIC will no doubt look to use their profile to advocate for compassion when dealing with staff.

NCIC staff are facing daily abuse, verbal and in some cases physical, at the hands of frustrated patients, particularly in Accident and Emergency Departments.

Staff launched the HUMAN campaign in the run-up to Christmas, designed to remind patients "that our colleagues are all human too, each with their own personal lives, responsibilities and vulnerabilities."

Resources

A meeting of NCIC directors in November. (Image: Newsquest)

Financial challenges have led NHS trusts across the country to make difficult decisions about resources and services.

The backdrop of these funding constraints is a national NHS deficit, recorded in 2023/24 at £1.4 billion.

Ms Davies told the News & Star in December that while NCIC is committed to existing services, the trust will need to consider how it makes the most effective use of them.

She said: "I think we are going to have to do things differently. It's not about stopping doing things and it's not about people being frightened we're going to remove services from their local hospitals, we need to keep things local but we will have to think about how we deliver those services so they can be really effective and efficient."

For details on the role of NCIC trust chair, visit: www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe127771/Chair/

For an informal chat about the role, email will.mcalpine@gatenbysanderson.com or Emily.smith@gatenbysanderson.com