Board to Ward – June 2026
In June’s Board to Ward we share three highlights:
Investing in services for patients
We have been invested in diagnostic and treatment services for patients. In the last month we have:
Opened a new £22 million Plymouth Community Diagnostic Centre on Western Approach in the heart of Plymouth. The city-centre facility offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic services, supported by state-of-the-art equipment. It is expected to deliver around 135,000 tests annually and up to 330 appointments per day. The centre will improve access to diagnostics, reduce waiting times and enhance patient experience. The first patients were treated there yesterday, with services operating daily from 8am to 8pm. The centre was formally opened by Luke Pollard Minister and MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport and we would like to thank Plymouth City Council, who have been instrumental in helping deliver this important investment for the city.
Opened the £18.5 million extension to the Plymouth Oncology Centre at Derriford Hospital. The development includes a new linear accelerator bunker for external beam radiotherapy, a dedicated High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy facility, enhanced patient entrance, and additional space for radiotherapy physics, treatment planning and clinical trials teams.
The extension was formally opened by the Sparks family and Plymouth Argyle’s Kevin Nancekivell, with a plaque unveiled in memory of the late BBC Radio Devon presenter and Argyle commentator, Gordon Sparks.
Completed a major refurbishment of our cardiac catheterisation laboratories (cath labs) which will deliver faster, safer and more advanced care for patients across Plymouth and the surrounding areas. These highly specialised facilities enable the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of heart conditions through both routine and complex procedures. The upgraded labs provide access to cutting-edge imaging technology, allowing procedures to be carried out with significantly lower radiation exposure, improving safety for both patients and staff.
Moved our Frailty Same Day Emergency Care service moved from Monkswell Ward to a dedicated area within the former Outpatients Department on Level 6. This provides a space specifically designed for older patients with frailty, helping more people to be seen and treated quickly in the right environment. The move is expected to improve how smoothly patients move through the service and reduce unnecessary waits. The service is currently operating five days per week, with plans to extend to weekends by the end of the summer.
Hector’s Story
We often start the Board meeting with stories from the experiences of patients that can be learned from. Claire Haill, Director & Consultant Nurse Infection Prevention and Management, came to share Hector’s story. Hector (name and some details changed) is a patient whose experience is sadly not an isolated case and relates to urinary catheter care. Claire and colleague Laura Stevens, who leads on infection control in the community shared:
Hector is aged 93, living independently until he had a fall at home. In the Emergency Department he was found to have urinary retention, requiring a catheter. A Specialist Urology referral advised ongoing urological management with a long-term urinary catheter. Speaking to Hector, he accepted the need for a catheter. During a prolonged 6-week admission, Hector developed hospital-acquired infections, including catheter-associated urosepsis. His discharge assessment identified a residential care home was appropriate, with Hector’s future goal of returning to his own home. There was no referral to community nursing services from the hospital, and no clear care plan detailing the responsibility for the ongoing management of his urinary catheter; then the catheter blocked.
Hector was subsequently admitted to the hospital a further two times for management of the urinary catheter and a suspected catheter associated infection and has now been transferred to a nursing home. When asked about his experience of where he has received care recently, Hector reported the Emergency Department was busy and scary, the care home provides all the care he needs but it does not feel like home, regarding his recent hospital admission, he stated: Not in the hospital, not overnight. I was moved to the end of a corridor with bookshelves and left alone for hours, that’s not care.
Claire reflected is an example of poor siloed services and missed opportunities for holistic care for Hector and although individual staff did their best, we have set up a system that isn’t working for patients.
The Board recognised Hector was let down and apologised. As a result, the Board leaders are going to explore care provision in the community and Chief Nurse Darryn Allcorn described a shift to follow-up all patients who are discharged with a telephone call within 24 hours of them leaving hospital from this summer. A new channel that should improve communication between providers of care will also start to be used.
Our Infection Control Annual Report was also taken to Board and showed that while we have made really good progress with reducing rates of C-Difficile, we have more work to do to reduce other infections, particularly device-related infections and is where we are focusing this year.
Reasons to be proud
League tables
We have improved in the national league tables, improving our position from 119th out of 134 acute trusts in to 105th (joint). This has, we believe, been driven by good progress in reducing waits for people needing appointments and operations (planned care) and improvements in our hospital mortality ratios. The 2025/26 NHS league tables Quarter 4 dashboard can be accessed online
Maternity and neonatal
Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, visited University Hospitals Plymouth on 3 Jun to spend time with maternity and neonatal teams, including a tour of key clinical areas and discussions about ongoing improvements in care, such as induction of labour, foetal monitoring, triage and neonatal services. Her visit highlighted the real progress made over the past year and the strong teamwork across services. In feedback following her visit, Kate praised the warm welcome from staff and recognised the “passion, curiosity and commitment” of teams working to improve care. She highlighted the pace of change and the focus on safety and quality, and noted the strength of collaboration across teams, emphasising that maternity care is truly a team effort and that working together continues to improve outcomes for women, babies and families. We are also working with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to share their report and recommendations after their recent visit to Derriford Hospital maternity services.
Volunteers’ Week 2026
We held our Volunteer Celebration Evening as part of Volunteers’ Week 2026, recognising the extraordinary contribution of nearly 400 volunteers who support patients, staff and services across UHP. Our volunteers continue to play a vital role in enhancing patient experience and supporting flow, contributing over 35,000 hours in 2025 alone, alongside thousands of patient interactions, refreshments provided and medications delivered. The event, alongside wider activity throughout the week, provided an opportunity to personally thank our volunteers for their compassion, commitment and positive impact.
And finally … Chief Executive Neil paid tribute to all the colleagues across UHP who are working and trying to look after people either in hospitals or in the community in very hot and difficult conditions.
Thanks for reading. Every month our Board leaders meet in public.
Do you want to ask our Board leaders a question? Email plh-tr.corporate.governance@nhs.net
