Nottinghamshire Healthcare has today had its application for Foundation Trust standard approved by the Secretary of State for Health.
Due to the high secure services based at Rampton Hospital that are included in the Trust’s portfolio it cannot be a Foundation Trust so a new assessment process was identified to ensure that the Trust is working to the same high governance standards as Foundation Trusts.
The transitional framework has been developed for high secure trusts to give them operational freedoms and extra autonomy, once they have undergone an assessment to demonstrate they are ready. Current legislation does not permit NHS Trusts who host high secure units to become FTs, so this regime is a transitional framework designed to offer high secure trusts greater freedoms ahead of plans to for all NHS trusts to become foundation trusts within 3 years.
This should put these organisations in a strong position to achieve foundation trust status when the necessary legislative updates have been made.
The assessment for this autonomy is modelled on Monitor's assessment of NHS Trusts for foundation trust status and utilises the knowledge and experiences acquired from this. However high secure trusts who have achieved this status remain NHS Trusts and are regulated by their SHAs, not Monitor.
Becoming an equivalent of Foundation Trust will allow greater freedom from Government control, stronger local ownership, and more involvement for the communities which the Trust serves.
Health Minister Simon Burns said: “I am delighted that Nottinghamshire Healthcare has been successful in their assessment against NHS Foundation Trust-comparable standards. We want all trusts to be free to innovate and improve care for patients.
“Achieving these standards will give the organisation greater autonomy and influence to shape their future and continue providing excellent care to their patients and service users.”
Professor Mike Cooke, Chief Executive of the Trust, added: “I am absolutely delighted to announce that Nottinghamshire Healthcare has been successful in its assessment against Foundation Trust standardsreceiving formal notification today Tuesday 2 November 2010.
"I feel very proud to be part of an organisation that does so many things on so many fronts so well, day in, day out. We have a great group of multi disciplinary staff, many innovative partnerships and of course the patients, service users and carers in front of us – those who have benefited from our services, advice and support in the past, those who do now and those who will in the future.
“Congratulations to all of our staff for the wonderful team effort in achieving NHS Foundation Trust standards. I look forward to them sharing in the greater power and influence we now have in determining our future. In short we were assessed for autonomy and we now have it!"
