Following the recent one-star rating received by Queen Mary's Hospital, in Sidcup, reporter TOBY NATION spoke to chief executive Helen Moffat about the hospital's future ...

HELEN Moffat is proud of the hospital, proud of its staff and proud of its achievements but she recognises there is still work to do.

This work, she says, has already started and the hospital is going through a period of transition which promises better things.

In July, Queen Mary's received a one-star rating from the Department of Health, saying the hospital was a "cause for concern" and was significantly under-achieving in certain areas.

But Miss Moffat is keen to stress that the hospital was already working hard on its weak points: "Those areas not doing so well are fully understood and we already have actions underway to make necessary improvements."

Despite the poor report, the chief executive is upbeat about the hospital's accomplishments, saying they have been "overshadowed by just a couple of issues".

These include long waiting lists and extended A&E trolley waiting times.

But the hospital head says important progress has been made in all these areas, claiming they will be on target by the year's end.

In fact, she says, the hospital has already reduced the 26-week outpatient's waiting list from more than 850 to zero within a year.

The staff have also reduced the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for an operation by 50 per cent in just nine months.

While pleased with the progress made bringing down waiting times, Miss Moffat said: "There is a very small number who wait a very long time, which we acknowledge, and are very disappointed with."

She stresses they are working hard to improve the provision of certain services: "It takes time to make changes and we recognise it's frustrating for the public but we too are also anxious to see fast changes in those areas."

One such change comes in the A&E department, where Primary Care Nurses will treat minor cases leaving specialist consultants to care for more serious conditions.

This policy has paid off with fewer patients waiting more than four hours on a trolley and they anticipate reaching their target of 90 per cent by March 2003.

Improvements to the hospital's surroundings are also set if a much-needed £18m refurbishment plan goes ahead.

Although Queen Mary's has had a difficult year, Miss Moffat is confident in the plans they have for improving the hospital and in the staff who will help it happen.

She said: "Everyone is working together to solve the problems and improve services.

"We are aiming high for next year and I'm hoping we can achieve at least two stars."