Besides being a major healthcare services provider to over 350,000 people the Foundation Trust also provides clinical education for Trust Staff and external delegates under the brand of "The Health Academy" in addition to teaching for medical students from the University of Manchester and University of St Andrews. Both Chorley and Preston Hospitals also provide training for student nurses from the University of Central Lancashire. In January 2015 the Trust started an arrangement to train 50 nurses a year at the University of Bolton who will be guaranteed jobs at the Trust. Their studies will be funded by Student loans. The Trust uses the Single Transferable Votevoting system to elect its Members' Council.
Performance
The trust expects to finish 2015-16 with a deficit of more than £45 million as a result of changes to the NHS tariff. In March 2018 it was the third worst performer in England in A&E, with only 53.3% of patients seen within 4 hours. In December 2019 it was the worst performing trust in England, with only 43.4% seen within 4 hours. Data from https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ Nursing staff at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital A&E department complained of having to work shifts of up to 17 hours and threatened to start finishing their shifts on schedule if the situation is not resolved. A&E consultants at Royal Preston Hospital wrote to the Board raised concerns over unsafe staffing and dangerous levels of overcrowding in the A&E department. The operations director and three divisional directors resigned in April 2018. From January to March 2019 only 52% of patients in the two emergency departments were seen within 4 hours. This was the worst performance in England. There were about 200 “trolley waits” where patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to a ward. The trust consider themselves to be the leading provider of prostatectomies within the region, but the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust challenged this in June 2015 by installing a da Vinci Surgical System at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
Chorley and South Ribble Hospital
In March 2016 the trust decided to downgrade the Emergency Department in Chorley to the status of an urgent care centre, open from 8am to 8pm with an out of hours GP service overnight, because they were unable to attract sufficient medical staff. An ambulance will be stationed in Chorley so that patients can be rapidly transported to Preston. This is said to be a temporary move. In January 2017 the trust reinstated the ED at Chorley on a part-time 12 hour basis with the UCC operating 24/7 run by GTD healthcare.
