A HOSPITAL boss has launched a “back to basics” campaign to make sure the focus of medical staff is patient care.

Harry Turner, chairman of Worcestershire Acute Hosp-itals NHS Trust, wants the organisation to focus on patient care rather than becoming a foundation trust (FT).

The trust has already agreed to reactivate the application to become a FT, which would give the trust more freedom from the Government and more choice over how it spends cash, but bosses do not want assessors to come in until the late summer or early autumn so they can focus on improving patient care.

Leaders at the trust wrote to the watchdog Monitor confirming they wanted to become a FT, but said they would like to delay the assessment so they can focus on their patients and improving standards and quality.

Mr Turner said: “The reason we’re doing this is simple – it’s so we can focus on the patients. It’s a year of back to basics, and by basics I mean patient care.

“We need to do a root and branch review of the way we do things. What we can’t and won’t do is things that will affect patient safety. That’s very short term and we’re in this for the long term.”

In particular, the trust wants to continue work on reducing falls and patient deaths and begin a period of cost control and consolidation before the assessors are called in.

This will include making savings of £23 million in 2011/12 as the trust aims to cut spending on expensive locum and agency staff, on waiting list initiatives where staff work weekends and evenings to bring the numbers on the list down, incr-easing the use of operating theatres and reducing the length of time patients stay in hospital.

The trust has changed its structure by introducing a hospital director at each of the hospitals with a team under him, including a medical director and an accountant. Each site now has a “mini-board” which it is hoped will improve patient care by generating a “friendly rivalry” between each hospital to drive up standards.

Mr Turner said: “It’s our version of commercialism and the intention is that the person who benefits is the patient. Decision-making is easier and we know who is responsible for what.”

The trust board has also changed with the appointment of a new chairman and four new non-executive directors.

The trust is aiming to become a foundation trust in the early part of 2012.