Northampton General Hospital defends itself against criticism after 10 members of staff go on £22,000 trip to America

Ten members of staff from NGH went on a ‘professional development’ trip, as part of it ‘Pathways To Excellence’ scheme, to America in October

A staff member, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted this newspaper with concerns. They said: “A group of senior hospital staff have just returned from New Orleans, promoting 'Pathway to Excellence.' Staff feel we are not on a pathway to excellence with significant cuts being made. In the current climate of waiting lists, etc., this trip was not supported by many staff, who feel it is an expensive PR exercise when these staff could've been working clinically.

The hospital confirmed the trip cost £22,000 and this was paid for using national funding for professional development and that ‘there was no impact on the funding of patient care at NGH’.

Chief Nurse for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, Julie Hogg, said: “Each year we encourage our nurses and nurse leaders to take part in professional development for the benefit of patients and for their colleagues. We had a great opportunity to do this at the end of October at a major event in America, which was paid for using national professional development funding (not funded by NGH). This enabled ten colleagues from our 1,660-strong nursing team – drawn from across the Trust to reduce any minimal staff impact – to attend the event. At the event, they learned about cutting-edge technologies, evidence-based practices, and strategies to improve hospital quality and safety for the benefit of patients.”

A hospital spokesman added: “The nurses who attended demonstrated a strong desire to improve care for patients and support their colleagues, and were selected based on the evidence they provided to support this. The group included two matrons, a lead nurse, a lead midwife, a midwife, three nurses, a ward manager, and a non-clinical nurse.”

Responding, the disgruntled staff member said: “It may have come from national funding, but it took clinical staff off the floor.

"The general feeling among many staff is that we should not be taking our lead from the American healthcare system. The NHS is on its knees, and senior staff need to roll up their sleeves and support their teams—not swan off to America on a meaningless PR exercise. What on earth can midwives learn from America? They have obstetric nurses—unless that’s what NGH is aspiring to, with their 50% caesarean section rate.”

The Pathway to Excellence programme is delivered by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC).

According to NGH’s website, The Pathway to Excellence accreditation programme’ recognises hospitals with positive practice environments where nurses excel’.