NHS appoints first Joint Chief Nurse
NHS appoints first Joint Chief Nurse
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust and NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have appointed a Joint Chief Nurse who will work across both organisations – the first shared executive post between the Trust and CCG.
Elaine Clancy is a trained A&E nurse by background and has 30 years of experience within the NHS this year. She has held senior nursing and managerial roles at various London teaching hospitals, including previously being the Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Croydon Health Services. Elaine is currently the Director of Quality and Governance at Croydon CCG.
She said:
"I feel so privileged to have been offered this role. I have always been an advocate for a more joined up health and care system and I believe that the changes our organisations are making represent a fantastic opportunity for Croydon. I believe by working more closely together, we will not only improve the working practices of our front line staff but even more importantly we will improve patient safety and health outcomes for the people we care for."Having worked in Croydon for much of my career, I look forward to working with many more of Croydon's hard working staff.”
The appointment comes as the Trust and CCG take steps towards increasing their integration and partnership at all levels. The two organisations have already appointed a Joint Chief Pharmacist and established an Integrated Safeguarding Team.
Through closer alignment, the Trust and CCG are aiming to improve the health of local people – by providing better quality, more joined-up care and reducing duplication to work more efficiently.
Mike Bell, chairman of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said:
“Croydon is ahead of the curve and has an amazing opportunity to ultimately bring the whole health and care system together in the borough to improve the wellbeing of all. Elaine’s appointment is a really positive step that will help ensure the people of Croydon get the care they need quickly, and in the right care setting. We already have one Chief Pharmacist in Croydon – shared equally across the Trust and CCG. This joint post is saving time, energy and money and importantly is giving local people more seamless services by bridging hospital and primary care.
“Our Integrated Safeguarding Team has brought together expertise and provides greater oversight and rigour. We believe there is real potential in having more shared functions like this that can provide shared expertise and free up time and funding that can be invested elsewhere.”
Dr Agnelo Fernandes, a local GP and Chair of NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
“Croydon already has a very strong track record for partnership working. The One Croydon Alliance has really set the standard, bringing health and care professionals together from the NHS, local mental health services, Croydon Council and Age UK Croydon to deliver more coordinated, holistic services for local residents. Thirty-seven GP practices in Croydon are now able to prescribe social activities in our community, which is empowering people to take control of their health and regain their independence.
“We know that there are huge benefits in having shared roles and functions and Elaine’s appointment is another step towards formalising the partnership between the Trust and CCG. The integration of health and social care in the borough will help to make Croydon a great place for people of all ages to live and thrive.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
1.The One Croydon Alliance partners are: Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group, Croydon Council, the Croydon GP Collaborative, South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Age UK Croydon.
Focused initially on older people in Croydon, the alliance has been extended to provide more joined-up care and support for people of all ages in the borough. One example includes the introduction of six new Integrated Care Networks (ICNs) covering every corner of the borough.
Weekly reviews are now held in every GP practice in Croydon to confidentially review a person’s care and proactively plan how services can work together to keep them well. They bring together general practitioners with district nurses, social workers, and pharmacists and are helping health and care professionals in the borough proactively tackle issues that can affect someone’s health and wellbeing, including, loneliness, mobility problems and long-term conditions, that could lead to hospital treatment if left unattended. The first pilot, set up in the most deprived part of the borough, saw a reduction in unplanned hospital admissions in Croydon.
2.Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provides hospital and community services in the borough. The Trust employs more than 3,800 staff and provides integrated NHS services to care for people at home, in schools, and health clinics across the borough. The Trust runs two hospitals in the north and south of the borough: Croydon University Hospital is home to the borough’s new £21million Emergency Department and 24/7 maternity services, including a labour ward, midwifery-led birth centre and the Crocus home birthing team. There are also ophthalmology services run by Moorfields Eye Hospital. Purley War Memorial Hospital in the south of the borough offers outpatient care, including diagnostic services, physiotherapy, alongside an onsite GP surgery. The Trust’s emergency care doctors and nurses have teamed up with local GPs to run a seamless network of urgent care services across the borough, including booked appointments with a GP available seven days a week. The Trust’s experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and its Children’s Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital.
3.NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) plans, buys and monitors the majority of local health services for the population of Croydon. These local health services include:
- Planned hospital care
- Urgent and emergency care (including out of hours services)
- Community health services (for example physiotherapy and district nursing)
- Mental health services
- Services for people with disabilities
- GP services, including prescribing
The CCG is a clinically-led, membership organisation bringing together all 54 GP practices in the borough of Croydon into one commissioning organisation. The CCG’s member practices are represented by the Council of Members and the Governing Body is responsible for overseeing the CCG’s statutory and community responsibilities.
4. For more information please contact daniel.pople@nhs.net on 07554438621. For media enquiries outside of normal office hours and weekends, please call the Trust’s main switchboard on 020 8401 3000 and ask for the Press Officer On-Call.