The facts about franchising at Good Hope Hospital

Editor—The brief news item about Good Hope Hospital does not reflect what is happening here.¹ We are disappointed that the BMJ should depart from its normal standards and mirror the tabloid press in making the story more important than the facts, which is inappropriate in a professional journal.

Good Hope Hospital has not been taken over by Secta. The franchising process has involved us signing a partnership contract with Secta, a consultancy with considerable health experience and part of the Tribal Group. This contract will run for three years and includes the provision of a chief executive and several specific actions that the trust board has deemed necessary to improve performance. The contract will be monitored by a subcommittee of the trust board, and the board will remain in control of the trust's direction.

Many NHS trusts employ consultants from time to time to help them improve the performance of their various hospitals. The trust is looking forward to a fruitful and productive partnership with Secta in a long term strategic relationship which might become a model for the future. Only time will tell, but the future success of Good Hope Hospital and the wider NHS certainly depends on the dedication and professionalism of its staff.

By referring to Good Hope Hospital as “No Hope” the BMJ serves only to perpetuate an untruth and demoralise a professional, dedicated, and hard working group of staff. That a respected medical journal saw fit to insult a group of NHS staff that have laboured under difficult conditions for many years is all the more distressing.

Clearly, as the BMJ has shown, ignorance about the franchise process and our hospital abounds. We ask therefore that it corrects the false impression that Good Hope Hospital has been taken over by a private firm and apologises to the staff for the jibe perpetrated in its unnecessary comment.