Information about our decision to seek to become part of a larger organisation

On 27 July, we selected Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) as our preferred acquisition partner. Read more about it.

Podcast about our preferred FT acquisition partner

Click here to watch a podcast about our announcement of which FT is our preferred acquisition partner in a pop-out window by Ron Calvert, Chief Executive when the decision was announced.  You can read the transcript from the podcast here. 

Background

You may have heard that Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust wants to become part of a larger organisation. We would like to reassure you that this will not affect the care you receive in any way. We provide a very high standard of care and you can continue to be seen and treated by us, as planned.

The reason we want to find a partner is because all NHS organisations need to make big savings over the next few years. The fixed costs associated with being a small, independent trust mean it would be very difficult for us to make these savings without affecting the quality of the care we provide. This briefing note and Q&A explains more.

Tripartite Formal AgreementEvery NHS provider that is not already a foundation trust has now signed a Tripartite Formal Agreement (TFA) explaining how they plan to become foundation trusts. We plan to do this by becoming part of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - hopefully on 1 April 2012.

Choosing a partner

On Monday 4 April 2011, we formally invited neighbouring NHS foundation trusts to bid to acquire us. We published a prospectus outlining what we can offer and what we are looking for from them.

We also published a summary of the evaluation criteria we will use to assess bids. These criteria have been developed in partnership with patients, Trafford residents, GPs, our staff, the council, the local primary care trust and other key groups (see below for more on this).

Two of our local foundation trusts - Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) and University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM) - submitted bids to acquire us by the deadline of 24 June 2011. On 26 July 2011, our Board selected CMFT as our preferred takeover partner.

Read a summary of the CMFT bid

Read a summary of the UHSM bid

Process of selecting a partner

  • Publication of prospectus, bidder information and evaluation criteria: 4 April 2011
  • Discussions and meetings with potential bidders (hospital trusts that might want to acquire the Trust): April / May 2011
  • Bidders submit proposals explaining why they want to acquire us and what they can offer patients in Trafford: 24 June 2011
  • Bidders present their bids to the ‘reference groups’ representing our hospital staff, patients, GPs and other key parties: 13 July 2011
  • Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust Board chooses its preferred bidder, bearing in mind the reference groups’ recommendations as well as technical evaluation and financial and legal advice: 26 July 2011
  • NHS Trafford, NHS Greater Manchester, NHS North West and the preferred bidder engage in commercial negotiations around funding for the move: August 2011
  • The preferred bidder starts the process of seeking formal permission from regulators to acquire the Trust: Late summer / autumn
  • If all goes well, the Trust would then transfer to the acquiring hospital trust. Trust staff would also transfer. Health services in Trafford’s hospitals would be provided by the acquiring hospital trust: April 2012

Involving patients, hospital staff, GPs and other key groups

It is important that we involve patients, hospital staff, GPs and partner organisations like Trafford Council and NHS Trafford. We have been doing this through four 'reference groups'. All four have equal importance.

They helped us develop the criteria we used when evaluating bids from neighbouring hospital trusts. They also met both of the bidders who wanted to acquire us and made their own recommendations to our Trust Board. These recommendations helped our Board choose its preferred bidder, along with technical, legal and financial evaluations.

The reference groups are:

Patient and public reference group: Around 30 people representing patient, community and voluntary groups in Trafford. The membership was nominated by Trafford LINk, the formal body for involving patients and the public in NHS and social care.

Clinical reference group: Around 25 doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who work for the Trust.

Staffside reference group: Union reps and other staffside representatives who work for the Trust.

External stakeholder reference group: The most senior people in NHS Trafford, Trafford Council, Trafford Commissioning Consortium (GP commissioning consortium), Trafford Primary Health Limited (representing GPs), Trafford LINk (representing patients and the public) and a representative from NHS North West.

Information roadshow

We visited the following neighbourhood forums and community venues in March 2011 to hear people's views and explain why we are seeking to become part of a larger foundation trust:

Monday 7 March: Stretford (St Matthew’s Church Hall) 6pm-7pm

Tuesday 8 March: Altrincham North neighbourhood forum (Broadheath Primary School) from 6pm-7pm and Partington & Carrington neighbourhood forum (Partington Community Centre) from 6pm-7pm

Tuesday 15 March: Urmston neighbourhood forum (Urmston Library) from 6pm-7pm and Sale West neighbourhood forum (Ashton on Mersey school sixth form) from 6pm-7pm

Tuesday 22 March: Old Trafford Community Centre from 10am-12pm and 5.30pm-7.30pm

Visits to the Sale East and Altrincham South neighbourhood forums took place on Tuesday 1st March.

Additional information

This message and a summary of key points explains our decision in more detail. You can also find out more in this podcast from Ron Calvert, Chief Executive at the time.

We hope this reassures you that you will continue to enjoy safe, high-quality care provided by us but if you have any queries or concerns at all, please contact our Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) on 0161 746 2019 or pals@trafford.nhs.uk.

Services are not affected by the latest news about the proposed acquisition. Patients can continue to be seen and treated by us as usual.