Two East Anglian mental health NHS trusts are looking into the possibility of merging in order to enhance clinical services, provide more opportunities for staff development and reduce overall running costs.
If agreed, there would be one NHS Foundation Trust covering Norfolk and Suffolk which would succeed the current Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Foundation NHS Trust.
Suffolk chief executive Mark Halladay said: “We have had some early discussions with our colleagues in Norfolk which indicate there might be significant benefits for our services in working together as a merged organisation. Each Trust has its own strengths that it could bring to the table, which would have a positive impact on the work that we do.
“In addition, we think that there would be better career progression and development opportunities for staff by becoming a larger organisation. And there would be savings from economies of scale – there would only be one board rather than two, for example – that we could plough back into healthcare.”
The proposal will be discussed at a public board meeting of Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust on 28 July. At the meeting, the board will discuss halting its existing application for Foundation Trust status in favour of exploring a merger with Norfolk.
If the proposal is agreed, one of the next steps would be an extensive period of public and stakeholder conversations in order to gather opinion about the aims and objectives of forming a new Trust.
The meeting takes place from 10am at the Social Centre at the rear of the St Clement’s Hospital site in Foxhall Road, Ipswich, IP3 8LS. The meeting is open to the public, but in order to estimate numbers, people wishing to attend are asked to call Julie Barns on 01473 329603 or email [email protected]
Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust works in partnership to provide mental health services to people in the county of Suffolk, with the exclusion of Waveney, and in the town of Thetford in Norfolk. It also provides substance misuse services and learning disability services to the county of Suffolk.
Its website is at www.smhp.nhs.uk For a full breakdown of services and financial performance, see the Trust’s annual report online under ‘Information>Reports’
