Moorfields agenda

What were the highlights for Moorfields in 2016/17?

It’s been an incredibly positive year. For me the highlight was the Care Quality Commission coming along to inspect our sites and services, and giving us an overall rating of ‘good,’ which is a fair reflection of where we are as an organisation.

It was really positive for them to highlight some ‘outstanding’ areas like our children and young people’s service, as well as elements around emergency care pathways.

One of the reasons we exist is research and to deliver our research on a global scale, so to get a Biomedical Research Centre award for another five years, including a Clinical Research Facility award for five years, is really important for us. 

What are Moorfields’ targets moving forward?

While we’re doing very well in terms of reported patient experience, there is lots more that we can do to improve the experience that our patients have. Patients are still waiting too long in clinic and the experience isn’t always consistent and isn’t always excellent. The big focus this year is making sure that there is a consistent approach to the way we deliver care.

"We're looking at sites in St Pancras because we think it's right for patients and right for us to continue playing on a global scale"

Following on from what Moorfields reported as a good year, how is Moorfields handling the current financial challenges?

Last year, we achieved our surplus target, which was a target of £2 million on the back of an overall turnover of £220 million – this isn’t a significant amount of surplus. This year, we have an even tighter target. Our surplus is to achieve £500,000 at the year end. We are doing well at end of the first quarter. We are on plan to deliver that, so it’s about continually focusing on how we achieve a relatively small surplus. However, compared to most NHS service providers, we are very lucky that we are still able to provide a surplus. 

What are the key points of your five-year strategy? 

It’s a really exciting strategy because it’s about focusing on discovery. By discovery, we don’t just mean science, we mean new ways to improve patient experience, so it’s going to impact on every member of staff in our organisation. It’s also about developing, and how we take this new discovery and move it into the arena of patient care. 

Finally, it’s about delivering. How do we take new ways of doing things and delivering it quickly? We are a very innovative organisation, but like most big organisations we can be a little bit slow. For me it’s about taking those three D’s (discover, develop, deliver) and focusing on our core belief that ‘People’s sight matters.’ That’s what we need to drive forward. 

What are the reasons Moorfields is looking to relocate?

We know that our site on City Road, Old Street is not fit for purpose for another 50 years. Significantly, it’s not able to deliver an environment where we can create a culture of innovation. Our plan is that Moorfields and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology will come together and move to a new site that is a better transport hub for our patients, located nearer to the University, and nearer to centres of excellence and discovery. We’re looking at sites in St Pancras because we think it’s right for patients and right for us to continue playing on a global scale.