Hospital Merger Update

The following announcement has been sent from Colchester & Ipswich hospitals’ Chief Executive, Nick Hulme.

Announcement

The two NHS trusts that run Colchester and Ipswich hospitals are planning to come together as a single organisation this summer. As the chief executive of both hospitals, I want to share the reasons for this with you as I know how important our services are to local residents.

The aim of the merger is to see you at the right time, attract and retain the best staff, and provide the latest treatments locally. Joining together will help us do this. As the largest NHS trust in the region, we will have the scale to save, strengthen and even grow some services. This won’t happen if we carry on as two medium sized separate organisations.

The merger does offer exciting opportunities to improve services for the residents we serve. However, I also know that change can cause worry and concerns.

The number one concern about the merger I hear from local people is about travel. I know that transport, especially public transport, is already a concern in your day to day lives, regardless of hospital visits.

A&E and Maternity Unchanged

There will be no changes to A&E or maternity services at either Colchester or Ipswich hospitals and both will continue to provide 24/7 emergency admissions. The vast majority of outpatient appointments will continue to take place as they do now. However, we need to make sure you only come to either hospital for an appointment if there is a clinical need for your to do so. We will look at how we use technology to reduce the number of time you need to attend, as well as reviewing how we could increase the use of, for example, telephone follow-up. We will also be looking at how we use our community hospitals in Felixstowe, Harwich, Clacton, Halstead, Aldeburgh and Ipswich’s Bluebird Lodge, and our community services.

Specialised Expertise

Over time, our doctors and other clinicians may decide that concentrating some very specialised expertise at one hospital is the best way to diagnose or treat patients with less common conditions. This may also be the only way to meet national NHS guidelines.

Although this would only affect small numbers of patients, change like this would need public consultation and a robust assessment of impact on travel.  We would make sure any travel concerns were properly addressed. There is no point improving services if it is too difficult, expensive or impossible for patients to use them.

While a small number of patients may have to travel further within the local region, it may save them journeys further afield to hospitals in London, Cambridge, Norfolk or Basildon, which is where they would go now.

Savings

There will be some financial savings from this merger, but these will predominantly come from spending less on overheads and duplication across two organisations. This will make more money available for the services you use and rely on, and provide better support and more time for our staff to care for you.

Across the country, the NHS, local authorities and other partners are increasingly working together. Through the Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP’s), they are sharing information, expertise and resources to provide care quicker and easier for local residents. This means services designed and delivered to work best for people, not organisations.

For the new organisation, our approach to achieving the full potential of this new way of working will be to think about how much time matters. Illness or accidents create stress and worry. That’s normal. But too often, our current systems and ways of working adds unnecessary stress and frustration. Poor communication. Duplication. Late-running appointments. Staff battling with multiple systems.

By making time matter, we will concentrate our efforts on removing those aspects of our systems that don’t work for our patients and staff. Valuing your time, freeing up time for staff to care for you, is the right thing to do for the people we serve

Thank you.