Introduction to the Trust and its Services

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Based in the Eastern Region, the Trust is responsible for the provision of services to a resident population of 230,000 living in South East Norfolk and North East Suffolk. The local population, which rises in number considerably during holiday periods, occupies a coastal strip 30 miles long and 9-15 miles wide, from Winterton-on-Sea in the north to Southwold in the south.

The geographical area served contains the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft that are 10 miles apart, with small concentrations at Beccles, Bungay, Halesworth and Southwold all managed by the NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney. The James Paget University Hospital was built in 1981, and has approximately 520 beds. It takes its name from the famous locally born surgeon, Sir James Paget, who became Surgeon Extra-Ordinary to Queen Victoria in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of medicine. The hospital is a well-equipped contemporary, two-storey design situated on a 40-acre green field site in Gorleston-on-Sea, equidistant between the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

The James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has a reputation locally and regionally as being well managed and has the following characteristics: - one of the highest day-case surgery rates in the country, a high level of Patients Charter compliance, including some of the shortest surgical waiting times in the country, a record of steady increases in the number of patients treated and cared for, stable finances and full compliance with Health Authority contracts and effective management of emergency admissions. This is the result of an unusual degree of synergy between clinicians and management.

The Trust was Foundation status on 1 August 2006 and has also become a University Hospital. Within the Trust patient care is delivered through a highly devolved management process that is based on a structure of clinical directorates, each of which is led by a senior consultant (who holds the title of Divisional Director).

The Divisional directors, general managers and other senior managers form the Trust's Management Team, has the responsibility for the operational management of the organisation. The Trust's management structure, which places great reliance on self-management and self-regulation, is cited regionally as an example of best practice.

As a Foundation Trust, the Hospital is run by a Board of Directors. As a unitary board, the Non Executive Directors share responsibility with the Executive Directors for ensuring the necessary financial and human resources are in place for the Trust to meets its objectives. The responsibility for the day to day running of the organisation lies with the Chief Executive and the Executive Team. The Board reports to the Governors Council on its performance, with Governors representing the Trust's 13,000+ public and staff members.