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27
Feb 2024
Harrogate hospital CEO: 'I don't wake up in the middle of the night worried about work'
In the second part of our feature length interview with Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, he talks RAAC, Ripon Community Hospital and how he handles stress. Read the first instalment here.
Aside from dealing with industrial action and the trust’s finances, Mr Coulter's position also comes with responsibility for the hospital estate.
In September last year, the trust confirmed that its roof contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
The material, popular between the 1960s and 1980s, was compared to “chocolate Aero” and made headlines after it was found in public buildings across the UK.
When asked if he was surprised to find the material on the hospital estate, Mr Coulter said:
The hospital bid for £20 million from government to help eradicate RAAC across the hospital site as part of a trust-wide project.
The therapy services building at Harrogate District Hospital, which is set to be demolished
So far, it has received £2 million which will go towards helping to demolish the therapy services department by creating offices to relocate staff to.
Mr Coulter says the trust is currently awaiting confirmation on £9 million worth of funding, which will be used to hire contractors to flatten the building.
Ripon is still valued
The projects at the trust extend beyond Harrogate.
Ripon Community Hospital is due to open a new community diagnostics centre in April.
The project came as part of £1 million worth of funding from NHS England and means GPs will be able to refer more patients to the hospital for life-saving checks closer to home and be diagnosed for a range of conditions.
Read more:
- Harrogate hospital aims to ‘minimise impact’ of latest junior doctors’ strike
- Harrogate hospital parking firm given five-year contract
- Harrogate hospital CEO talks car parking, strikes and tackling NHS finances
Despite the major projects in Harrogate, Mr Coulter says Ripon is still valued and that there are wider conversations with the primary care sector about how to make healthcare services more accessible in the city.
'I don't wake up in the middle of the night worried about it'
Mr Coulter never saw himself becoming chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
Rather, the opportunity presented itself to him in February 2022 and he took it.
The result of taking that chance has seen matters such as NHS strikes, RAAC, a multi-million deficit and an array of hospital projects come across his desk.
Does he find it stressful?
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