Trust's search for staff in India leads to 69 job offers

It comes as the Trust provided an update on its interim stability plan for Daisy Hill.

With significant vacancies and continued challenges with recruiting and retaining doctors nationally, regionally and locally, the Trust's Medical HR team is working with a specialist international agency on the recruitment drive.

"Having already appointed four Consultant Radiologists, two Emergency Medicine ST1 doctors and a Medical Registrar with the same agency, the team travelled to Mumbai from September 14-19, to interview candidates who had already been through an initial application process," the Trust's update said.

"Posts were available for doctors across a range of grades and specialties.

"Over three days of interviews, the team are delighted to have made offers to 69 candidates. Pre-employment checks are now underway and we hope to welcome the first of our new junior colleagues from October, with more senior appointments beginning to arrive in the new year. 

"The new doctors will be taking up fixed-term posts across the Trust with the potential to lead to permanent positions in the future.

"The Southern Trust and Northern Ireland is an attractive place to live and work and we know that our staff will extend a very warm welcome and support our new internationally trained colleagues as they settle in.

"We hope that our new colleagues will help us to stabilise medical staffing across the Trust, allowing us to improve services for patients and the working environment for everyone.

"The trip to India was the first targeted recruitment drive of an 18 month contract with this agency. We hope to continue with this good working relationship and look forward to welcoming further medical appointments to the Trust during this time."

Meanwhile, the Trust says staff have been working on the plans for acute medicine over the summer, with the aim being "to stabilise and find a sustainable way forward for the hospital", a six-page document reads.

"Ensuring patient safety and supporting our staff are central to this process," it adds.

The document states that throughout July, August and September Daisy Hill "at times experienced severe pressure, with overcrowding in its ED, high numbers of sick patients requiring admission and significant numbers of patients in beds on wards, medically fit but delayed with discharge.

"Whilst progress has been made, continued demand on services and ongoing workforce issues remain significant challenges.

"This continues to be a difficult time for staff but we are encouraged by their enthusiasm to work with us to modernise and improve services and thank them for their hard work and dedication to caring for our patients."

The Trust report that a new medical model, 'Physician of the Day', is in place and working well. The full medical rota is covered with locum consultants and registrars and the team are also supported by three senior medical consultants.

In terms of beds, "ongoing demand has proved challenging in reducing medical bed complement.

"Our priority focus is to improve patient flow and offer more alternatives to inpatient admission where appropriate, aiming to reduce the number of medical patients admitted to surgical wards and supporting the increase in elective activity. "

A geriatrician is now based in the Emergency Department five days, identifying and supporting frail elderly patients, preventing admission where possible and ensuring they get the most appropriate care and promoting patient flow.

Level four is being maintained as a rehab ward for frail and stroke patients, where we are piloting direct admission for frail patients as part of this broader frailty focus and to support with anticipated winter pressures.

A new discharge lounge has opened to help ensure that the most acutely ill patients get a bed as soon as possible and to help improve patient flow.

Accommodating up to 10 patients, those assessed as fit for home from any adult wards or the Emergency Department can be transferred to the comfortable surroundings of the new lounge where discharge arrangements, for example paper work and medications, are completed.

Recruitment is ongoing to open the eight bedded ED short stay unit to offer treatment or intervention to support discharge home or via community supports.

The ambulatory unit is said to be "working well with 17 treatment spaces, accepting referrals up to 5pm Monday to Friday".  

The document adds that recruitment is underway to open an urgent care centre at Daisy Hill Hospital. Similar to the service at Craigavon Area Hospital, a GP and First Contact Physiotherapist will take suitable referrals through the ‘Phone First’ system. This service aims to ensure that more patients get the right care in the right place, freeing up time and space in the ED for the most acutely ill patients. 

With an initial eight additional staff in place, referrals to the acute care at home team have been increasing in the Newry and Mourne area. A geriatrician and specialist nurse, liaise with ED and wards daily, to identify suitable patients and the team is working closely with GPs to encourage referrals.

Domiciliary Care packages and Statutory Residential Care placements remain challenging due to demand, patient choice and recruitment.

Staff have been identified to develop a Virtual Ward, aiming to support a reduction of admissions and support earlier hospital discharge.

Paediatrics at Daisy Hill "remains stable", with the Trust stating that they "continue to develop the wide range of inpatient and outpatient services on site.

"A number of new paediatric medical appointments have been made including three Consultant Paediatricians. We look forward to reopening paediatric elective surgery in the dedicated theatre facility on the sixth floor and as part of our winter planning, will be extending opening hours of the short stay paediatric ward to weekends from October".