Two north London hospital trusts set to merge

The NHS trust claims its proposed merger with another North London hospital group will reduce waiting times and improve access to specialist care after years of working closely together.

North Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust are in active discussions about a proposed merger.

A business case will be developed over the next few months, but will need approval from both trust boards and NHS England. This is expected to be completed by the summer and, if approved, the organizations will be integrated in the fall.

North Mid Hospital’s website says the trust has already had a “formal partnership” with the Royal Free since 2021, with the Edmonton hospital operating Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield and the Royal Free. The company claims it can “achieve even more” by partnering with the Royal Free. Camden hospital.

The NHS Trust said Edmonton Hospital will continue to provide the same community services as it currently does. This includes accident and emergency departments, maternity wards, intensive care units, pediatrics, acute surgery, medical and community services.

The report found that after the merger, waiting times would be reduced, access to local specialty care would be improved, regional services would be more coordinated, there would be more opportunity to benefit from the latest medical research, and screening and early intervention services would be more effective. They argue that this will enable more coordinated action. Tailored to different communities.

A spokesperson for North Mid said: “After several years of working closely together, the boards of North Mid and Royal Free London Group have agreed to consider how they can come together as one organization. did.

“Our experience shows that if we work together we can provide better care for local people and create more opportunities for our staff.

“While our hospitals and community services will continue to provide the same community services, we believe that by working together we can even more quickly improve services for our patients and the health of our communities.

“We are currently developing detailed plans for the proposed merger, which will then require approval from both trust boards and the UK NHS Board.”

However, a recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report following an inspection of Northmid’s leadership team claimed that the extra workload associated with the proposed merger was impacting on the NHS trust’s operations.

Jane Rae, deputy director of operations at CQC in London, said she felt North Mid’s leadership team was “skilled and committed”, but that some work was not done “in a timely manner”. It said it was struggling to complete and needed to “better manage” the workload from the organization. He proposed a merger.