Health secretary Jeremy Hunt visits RDaSH and DRI

Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt is pictured, speaking to staff within Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital’s Lecture Theatre.

Mr Hunt visited Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust’s (RDaSH) site at Tickhill Road, Balby, before heading to Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI) — receiving a “warm Yorkshire welcome” at each.

The two trusts were the 100th and 101st NHS organisations visited by the health secretary, on a national tour outlining how he wants the NHS to be the safest and best healthcare system in the world.

At Balby, Mr Hunt spoke to around 70 mental health staff, while at DRI he addressed over 100 doctors, nurses and other health workers.

The cabinet minister was accompanied by Prof Tim Kendall, NHS England’s national clinical director for mental health and Prof Jo Martin, NHS England’s national director of pathology.

On RDaSH, Mr Hunt said: “Approaches to patient safety encompasses their own staff’s wellbeing — crucial in a mental health trust where staff and patient safety are two sides of the same coin — an approach the entire NHS could learn from.”

On the hospital, he added: “It was impressive to see such pioneering work being done, encompassing both hospital and community services.

“They’re leading the way and even winning awards for their health and social care partnerships.”

After the visit, Kathryn Singh, chief executive of RDaSH, said: “It was a pleasure to host Mr Hunt’s visit to our Doncaster site during the NHS’ 70th year.

“It was great to be able to tell him about the excellent work our staff do day in day out to benefit our patients, how they always strive to put safety first, and if things go occasionally wrong, how we learn from those mistakes.

“We also explained how patients are at the heart of what we do and how we encourage them to be active in the work of our trust.”

DBTH chief executive Richard Parker added: “I want to thank Mr Hunt for visiting DRI, taking time to speak to members of our team.

“Since 2013, the trust has seen a number of improvements in patient safety and this was a fantastic opportunity to showcase this work, which in many ways mirrors the message delivered by Jeremy.

“Alongside our partners, we are proud of the achievements made by our staff, who, each day, provide high quality care for people in Doncaster, Bassetlaw and beyond.”