Date set for decisive step in changing Shropshire NHS trust leadership
A decisive step in creating one ruling board for two Shropshire NHS trusts is set to be made later this month.
Senior leaders at both the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropcom) are proposing to have a single leadership team to oversee strategy and service delivery.
Both trusts would remain separate but the board would be able to make decisions across both organisations.
Andrew Morgan, the chair in common of SaTH and Shropcom, told a meeting on Thursday (September 11) that the two boards of directors will be meeting later this month with one item on the agenda.
“We have been working with proposals towards creating a group model,” he told SaTH’s board meeting.
He said a meeting in public will be held on September 23 to consider “sign-off” of the plans.
“Further announcements are to come about the board meetings on the 23rd,” he added.
The move – called Better Together – is being promoted as a way to improve local services, create efficiencies, and enhance patient care through closer integration.
The organisations have been drawing up a “comprehensive culture, communications, and engagement plan” and the organisations say both trusts are “fully committed to maintaining openness and transparency throughout the transition to a group and into the future”.
A group transition committee is looking at developing a “programme of integration focused on the hospital transformation programme, the local care programme and shared services”.
In response to a question on how the move will affect patient care, SaTH said that the changes mainly affect the board and leadership.
“If we do decide to become a group, over time we hope patients and staff will see benefits through joint working leading to better care for everyone,” says a statement on SaTH’s website.
