Developing the PMS

1.34  There are still further improvements to the PMS which can be made:

■  Timeliness of performance information. While largely up to date, information regarding the performance of each FM service does not always appear on time for the monthly performance review meetings. This was noted during our fieldwork when we sat in on performance review meetings and also reported in the Trust's internal audit report for 2002. The Trust and THC Dartford have now reorganised the monitoring process and THC Dartford now attend the meeting and have accepted responsibility for making this information available on time.

■  Ongoing development of weightings for aspects of service delivery. The weightings applied to each aspect of service delivery do not always appear appropriate and sometimes are not consistent across services. In catering, hygiene has a weighting of 40 out of 485 points, which seems low compared to the weighting of 90 out of 485 points for presentation. Individual service reviews are underway to produce a more effective specification and subsequent monitoring arrangements.

■  Developing full effectiveness of the Feedback System. Complaints and praise by users are two of the considerations relevant to the determination of the overall level of service performance and in turn whether performance deductions are applicable. It is important therefore that the process for reporting complaints and offering praise works well. During ward visits, we became aware of a reluctance on behalf of Trust staff to complete service complaint forms. Part of the reason for this is the time consuming nature of form filling, but some Trust staff felt they did not want to report on a contractor's employee for fear that the employee might lose their job. Similar concerns had been raised by the Trust's own internal audit review in the previous year. Modern Matrons are now part of the monitoring team and receive direct feedback from Ward sisters. They are also now part of the Infection Control and Hospital Cleanliness team and will visit wards and departments with the Assistant Director of Infection Control to ensure standards are maintained. There is also a helpdesk being established where patients and staff will be able to give direct feedback on matters.

■  Neutrality in dealing with service problems. UME is employed by THC Dartford to manage its FM services and is obliged to administer the FM services contract fairly. In doing this, it acts as the main interface between the Trust and the FM contractor Carillion. The Trust has found UME to be helpful in dealing with a number of service problems that have occurred, but because UME is contracted to THC Dartford, it is questionable whether UME will, as the Trust initially hoped, always be motivated to be completely neutral in settling problems between the Trust and Carillion. THC Dartford notes that it is not in its interest for UME to act unfairly towards the Trust, as this would result in escalating disputes requiring dispute resolution.