October sees launch of Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

This NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for managing services at Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool Dental Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Each individual hospital will retain its name and proud heritage.

Bringing together a combined workforce of over 12,000 staff, the Trust has become the largest NHS employer in Merseyside and Cheshire. As well as providing general hospital services to people in Merseyside, the Trust will provide a range of highly specialist services to more than two million people in the North West and beyond.

“Today is a really significant moment for the healthcare of the city. We’re proud to have officially merged and are looking forward to achieving the ambitions we have for the organisation,” said Steve Warburton, chief executive of the interim board of the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

“This merger provides a monumental opportunity to address the serious health challenges we face as a community, to improve care and provide sustainable services for people across Merseyside. We firmly believe that this merger will help to serve the best interests of patients, staff and the people we serve.”

Plans to merge were developed and supported by doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals at both Trusts who believe the merger will enable them to improve care for patients and enhance our appeal in terms of clinical research, ensuring we continue to provide the latest drugs and treatments for our patients.

“Evidence shows that highly complex and specialist procedures are more successful when teams are performing them more often. This can only be achieved by providing specialist services to a wider group of patients,” said Dr Tristan Cope, medical director of the interim board.

“Merging the two trusts is vital to ensuring that we continue to provide these specialist services to the people of Merseyside. Safeguarding the services and ensuring they remain and grow here is vital to providing excellent, quality care.”

Over time, they say they are planning to look at how individual services are delivered. By taking what works well from across our hospitals, they will start to make improvements for patients and this may involve some change. With any major changes they propose for the future, they are undertaking to discuss proposals with patients, the public and local communities to understand their views and use this information to assess the potential impacts of the improvements. This will be done before making any final decisions.

Patients will see very few changes to begin with and for the time being services will remain the same. The new Trust encourage all patients to attend appointments at their given hospital as normal and they will still be seeing the same staff.

“This is a very exciting time. The Board has great ambition for the Trust and will be working closely with staff and stakeholders to develop our culture and ability to deliver all the benefits of the merger for patients and the communities we serve,” said Sue Musson, chair of the interim board.

“We look forward to developing the new Trust as an organisation that provides first-class care to the people of Liverpool, is a centre of excellence for research and education and represents the first choice for individuals seeking to develop a rewarding career in the NHS.”