Patients benefit from an award-winning team
Blakelands NHS Treatment Centre was developed to provide
additional NHS services, through a contract with the Department of
Health. The team in Milton Keynes have been impressing patients
since opening in July 2006 – and have just been nominated for their
second national award.
Blakelands’ staff were thrilled to secure a place in the 2009
‘Healthcare 100’, which invites nursing employers and employees to
nominate their workplace as one of the best in the UK. Blakelands
also made the list in 2008, and received a special award for their
commitment to the health and welfare of staff.
Blakelands’ General Manager Julie Worth comments: “Excellent
patient care can only be delivered by excellent quality staff, and
I am very proud of the team here at Blakelands. It is wonderful for
our staff to receive national recognition.”
The excellent working environment at Blakelands seems to reach
everyone who comes through the doors. Patient satisfaction, as
monitored by an independent company, has been consistently above
90% since opening. This praise is also due to Blakelands’ excellent
facilities, which include on-site imaging and physiotherapy
departments, plus two operating theatres ideal for day case
endoscopy, orthopaedic and general surgery.
Blakelands has been aiming for excellence right from its
conception, and is built to a pioneering design that minimises
infection risk. Julie Worth explains: “Patients having surgery
follow a continuous path through the building. We even have two-way
lockers so that patients collect their belongings without doubling
back on themselves.”
Such features have enabled Blakelands to continually meet
clinical performance targets. Working closely with Milton Keynes
Primary Care Trust, Blakelands also regularly adapts their services
to best meet the needs of the local community, thereby attracting a
high number of patients.
Ramsay Health Care runs eight other NHS Treatment Centres in the
same contract, which has treated over 52,000 NHS patients to date.
Ramsay was later awarded an additional NHS contract in Cumbria and
Lancashire, and was commissioned to develop a new treatment centre
by Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust.
Ramsay’s work with the NHS is continuing through the Patient
Choice initiative and through working in partnership with local NHS
organisations. Meanwhile, Blakelands NHS Treatment Centre continues
to develop as part of the local NHS community.