26.09.14
Monitor approves first acquisition of an NHS foundation trust by another
The first acquisition of an NHS foundation trust by another is set to go ahead now that final approval has been granted by Monitor.
The health sector regulator has given final approval to Frimley Park Hospitals NHS FT as it looks to acquire its troubled neighbour, Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS FT.
Dr David Bennett, chief executive of Monitor, said: “We’ve approved this acquisition to provide patients with better care and improved services while ensuring the sustainability of the two trusts.
“This decision is proof that acquisitions between foundation trusts that represent the right balance of patients’ interests are possible. It also shows that early engagement with us is key to successfully navigating healthcare regulations that are in place to protect patients and trusts.”
The Care Quality Commission also announced today that Frimley Park is the first foundation trust to be rated ‘outstanding’.
According to the chief inspector of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, even those services that were rated as ‘good’ were found to be at the upper end of that scale.
He said: “One of the most striking things about this trust is the way that teams work together across the hospital, and with other providers, to make sure that people get the best possible treatment and care. This is something that other trusts could learn from – and we hope they will take note of our findings here.
“Staff engagement and culture at this trust is impressive, and we saw that it had a clear vision and set of values which had been developed with staff. These were well embedded, and the sense that staff felt empowered and part of a Frimley family was felt throughout the inspection.
“The trust also has a strong patient centred culture and sees public engagement as essential in developing services for their communities they serve. The strength and depth of leadership at both board and ward level was outstanding here, the benefits of which were clearly demonstrated by the consistency of high quality care provided across the vast majority of services.”
Heatherwood & Wexham Park was placed in special measures by Monitor in May 2014. A statement from Monitor said the trust will benefit from coming under the strong leadership of Frimley Park.
Andrew Morris, chief executive of Frimley Park NHS FT, said: “This is fantastic news for our staff and the communities we serve. In my view, the outstanding rating is a massive endorsement of the hard work and dedication of our excellent staff who every day are committed to providing the best possible service to patients in their care.
"I am particularly pleased that the report highlights the positive, open and transparent culture we have here at Frimley as well as examples of what has been described as 'exemplary care' throughout many wards and services.”
Monitor expects the newly enlarged organisation, to be renamed Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, will provide expanded and enhanced services such as specialist elderly care and cardiology across Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire.
Morris said: "”This marks the start of building a new organisation of which we can all be proud – one which celebrates achievement and best practice in providing first class care to the people that matter most, our patients.
“Patients will see little obvious change at first as services will continue to be delivered from the same locations with the same clinicians.
"However, our executive team, who bring with them over 60 years of stable and successful NHS board leadership experience, have many ambitions over time to transform the way care is delivered across all three hospital sites to meet increasingly demanding clinical and quality standards.”
Final approval of the acquisition will also kick-start work on upgrading facilities for patients at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough and the Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "These plans have been developed by local doctors and nurses and will mean the people in Ascot, Slough and surrounding areas will get the high quality healthcare they expect and deserve.
"By providing support, both hospitals will be significantly upgraded, so they provide the best possible care for local people.”
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