01.08.16
PSHFT due to legally acquire Hinchingbrooke as part of merger
The first privately-run NHS hospital has signed a memorandum of understanding with a neighbouring foundation trust as the first step towards a merger.
Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust (HHCNT) and Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PSHNFT) announced that they will work together to develop a full business case for a merger.
If the merger is approved by the trusts’ boards in September, they will merge on 1 April next year.
A paper published ahead of the HHCNT board meeting on 28 July noted: “From a legal perspective, this will be an acquisition of Hinchingbrooke by PSHFT.”
It also says that existing consultations with staff, patients and local councillors have raised a number of concerns over the merger after it was proposed in January.
These include concerns about the protection of services, particularly maternity and emergency services at Hinchingbrooke, about patients’ families having to travel a long distance to the new site, and about staff members having to travel between sites.
Questions were also raised about whether the merger would insure Hinchingbrooke’s clinical sustainability and the fact that it will still retain its deficit, which the board papers also show currently stands at £1.52m despite plans to reduce it to £1.24m.
Hinchingbrooke became the first NHS hospital to be privately run in 2012, after its operations were outsourced to social enterprise Circle.
However, Circle pulled out of running the hospital last year, saying it was no longer financially sustainable because of the increase in A&E attendances.
The trusts have now announced a programme of consultations to allow members of the public to find out more about the proposed merger.
The next one takes place at 10am on Thursday in the New Meeting Hall at Stamford Hospital.
In a joint statement, Lance McCarthy, chief executive of HHCNT, and Stephen Graves, chief executive of PSHNFT, said: “Both our trusts are passionate about providing quality services that are better, safer, and local. This work supports the future delivery of sustainable services from all three hospitals, working together as one Foundation Trust that is clinically, financially and organisationally stronger.
“We are now working together to develop the Full Business Case that will confirm savings and costs, set out in-depth details of how the proposed merger will be implemented, and how it will benefit patients and taxpayers by reducing the duplication of corporate and back office costs.
“During the next three months we are engaging with members of the public to inform them of our proposed plans to merge, reassure them of our commitment to providing a local service, and to ask for their views to help inform the Full Business Case.
“We particularly want to know what people think about creating local constituencies and governors who will separately represent the three areas surrounding Hinchingbrooke, Peterborough and Stamford hospitals. We also want to hear what people think we should call the proposed new organisation.”
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