New Salisbury NHS boss Lisa Thomas talks parking, delays and future

Lisa Thomas, 46, from Devizes, was appointed interim chief operating officer of Salisbury NHS on January 31 after former chief Stacey Hunter left to run a group of hospitals in Teesside.

Nearly one month after she was appointed, Lisa told the Journal she is "delighted" to be part of the hospital's "continuing progress".

Handover and discharge delays are a problem many hospitals across the country are currently facing but Salisbury has seen "remarkable" improvements in the past year.

Last February, roughly 25 per cent of hospital beds were taken up by patients who did not need care but were waiting to be sent onward.

This figure has dropped to around 18 per cent and Lisa said this is for due to collaboration and better recognition of when people can be sent home.

Lisa Thomas joined Salisbury NHS joined the Trust in September 2017 as chief finance officer. (Image: Newsquest)

‘Home first’ is the goal, Lisa explained: “We know if you assess someone in hospital they are likely to come out with a higher need whereas if they are in their own environment and had a good night sleep, we know people are more likely to cope.

“We probably weren’t sending people home for discharge to be assessed as much as we could do so we have really pushed to put the person first and have everyone working towards that goal of sending somebody to home.”

Future CEO could be in charge of multiple hospitals

Currently Salisbury District Hospital stands alone with its own CEO but conversations about sharing a CEO with Great Western Hospital and Royal United Hospital are ongoing and Lisa confirmed there will be a new chief executive.

She said: “At the moment nobody knows what will happen. Ian Green the chair is having a conversation with governors about what recruitment looks like.

"What I can say is that there will be recruitment of a new chief executive who will have Salisbury’s best interests at heart and it will be ensuring that person, whether shared or independent, is focused on the local population."

No chance of more parking

Building more parking spaces at the hospital is "not an option", Lisa said: "We’re encouraging people to think about whether they need to have their car on site.”

Staff now have access to a free hopper bus service with the park and ride which reduces some of the pressure on site but during winter parking pressure at the hospital increases.

Lisa also addressed rumours of construction workers parking in patient spaces and said they are only occupying the staff area.

There are no plans to add more parking to Salisbury District Hospital. (Image: Spencer Mulholland)

Roadworks are causing anxiety for patients as more are turning up late for appointments due to the increased traffic around the city. Lisa said the hospital is aware of this and said it’s “not a huge theme but it does cross the desk  in terms of concern.

“Ultimately as a hospital we try to be as flexible as possible, so if people turn up late we try to accommodate, but we are aware that traffic problems have contributed to people’s stress levels,” she added.

Handover delays falling

The South Western Ambulance Service previously told the Journal that handover delays remain the "single, biggest challenge" after a 92-year-old was left to wait almost 12 hours for an ambulance.

Lisa said Salisbury Hospital is “one of the best in the south west” for reducing ambulance handover delays as four per cent more people have been through A&E, showing demand has increased.

However, 80 per cent of patients arriving by ambulance are “turned around” within 30 minutes, up from 72 per cent last year. 93 per cent of ambulances are turned around within one hour.