Turnaround Herts health boss to stay on

THE man responsible for making significant improvements to local hospital services has announced that he will be staying on as the permanent chief executive. Jan Filochowski was parachuted into the ailing West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) in November

THE man responsible for making significant improvements to local hospital services has announced that he will be staying on as the permanent chief executive.

Jan Filochowski was parachuted into the ailing West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) in November 2007 on a secondment from another healthcare authority.

But he officially announced today that he will remain in the role at the Trust, which manages Watford General, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans City hospitals.

Mr Filochowski has introduced many measures that have led to significant improvements in the quality of care provided, as well as helping to reduce its massive debts.

One of his major successes has been to prevent WHHT from receiving a double 'weak' rating for its overall annual performance rating for the third year running.

In his first year, it received a double 'fair' rating and is predicted a double 'good' rating for 2008 to 2009.

Finance is another area that Jan has significantly influenced since his arrival. For many years the Trust had millions of pounds of debts, but for the past two years it has broken even and is starting to make a significant surplus.

Jan has also been behind major projects such as the centralisation of the emergency service at Watford General Hospital and the opening of the largest Acute Admissions Unit in the country.

A spokesperson for WHHT said that a recent review of the first 100-days of the new model of care has concluded that the new centralised service is working very well and is providing quicker and safer care, with fewer patient deaths and fewer readmissions than at most other UK hospitals.

Trust chairman professor Thom Hanahoe, said: "I am truly delighted that Jan has agreed to stay on with the Trust and continue the work he has started. Jan and I have developed an excellent working relationship and his management and leadership skills have made a huge, fundamental difference in all aspects.

"Jan is very talented at identifying what needs to be done and he is extremely effective at executing his plans. His approach to working smarter to ensure value for money and service improvement have led to the Trust being confident of a 'Good/Good' rating from the Care Quality Commission later this year.

Jan Filochowski says, "I am proud of what has been achieved by the Trust over the past few years and delighted that I will be staying here long-term as this is an organisation with a bright future.

"I believe that we have very dedicated, committed and enthusiastic staff in west Herts. I love working with them and am very proud to do so. I look forward to working with them to further improve the quality of the hospital care we provide for the people of west Herts.