Four hospital trusts look to join forces in new ‘health alliance’

FOUR Northern hospital trusts are looking to work more closely than ever before as part of a new arrangement to be called the “The Great North Health Alliance”.

The Newcastle Hospitals, Northumbria Healthcare, Gateshead Health and North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS trusts will work together in hope of improving healthcare “pathways” for patients. The plans are at an early stage, but executives have said the idea is to build on areas where there is existing collaborative working across hospitals teams and to help the trusts “work towards financial and operational sustainability”.

Discussions between executives have taken place, and at a meeting of the Council of Governors at the Newcastle trust, governors were told by interim trust board chair Prof Kath McCourt that “quite a lot” was being discussed.

Prof McCourt said: “We have been discussing quite a lot about the alliance between ourselves, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital [in Gateshead], Northumbria Healthcare and North Cumbria. I think that is something we will be bringing back to Governors on a regular basis as it develops.”

Sir James Mackey – the Newcastle trust’s chief executive – then clarified that this did not mean the trust wouldn’t continue to work closely with NHS organisations not included in this arrangement, such as the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS mental health trust, but that the alliance model was looking at areas where working more closely together could improve patient pathways.

Sir James Mackey

Examples of cross-working between trusts include the Metrocentre community diagnostic centre – a joint project between Newcastle and Gateshead trusts. Also, the Northern Centre for Cancer Care North Cumbria is run by the Newcastle trust, but on the same site as Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, which is managed by the North Cumbria trust.

In committee papers presented to the Gateshead trust’s board in January, executives wrote: “In January, we announced our intention to pursue an alliance model of working with Newcastle, Northumbria and North Cumbria Foundation Trusts, as a means of improving collaboration and working towards financial and operational sustainability. “

The issue is also set to be discussed at the North Cumbria Integrated Care board, with executives there saying in board papers: “Collaboration with our partners is essential to deliver improvements to the benefit of our patients locally and across the region.”

They added: “The Trust, through the Chief Executive and Chair, is actively engaging and collaborating with system partners on early planning of the Great North Health Alliance.”

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