Health Trust merger with Basingstoke? (From Andover Advertiser)

Health Trust merger with Basingstoke?

11:16am Friday 19th November 2010 in News

ANDOVER and Winchester hospitals could be merged with a neighbouring hospital trust in a major shake-up of services.

Health chiefs were due to meet in private yesterday to consider options for the future of the trust, with the preferred partner being Basingstoke. Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Andover War Memorial Hospital and the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, has been in discussion with Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust about a partnership. The proposed merger would form a new trust for north and mid-Hampshire serving a population of 540,000, and the Winchester and Eastleigh would disappear as a small independent trust.

The move could potentially produce savings from economies of scale and cutbacks in senior management costs. It is understood the Royal Hampshire would keep its accident and emergency department and maternity services, but there would be more sharing of consultants and specialist services. The proposed merger has been prompted by the Government’s plan for all hospitals to become foundation trusts by 2013.

To become a foundation trust, hospital trusts have to meet certain clinical and financial standards.

The Winchester and Eastleigh trust is rated ‘good’ for clinical services, but only ‘fair’ for financial management. Managers balanced the trust’s £143m budget in 2009-10, but there is a historic debt of £1.9m — despite a £7m cost-cutting drive. The annual report reveals the trust failed in its statutory duty to break even over an extended five-year period and wipe out a £3m debt incurred in 2005-6, as agreed with regional health chiefs. If managers recommend a merger with Basingstoke, the reorganisation would have to be formally approved by the boards of the two hospital trusts, South Central Strategic Health Authority and NHS Hampshire PCT, before it goes out to public consultation in 2011. But Dr Jim Rose, GP principal at St Mary Bourne Surgery and a former medical director of Mid-Hampshire Primary Care Trust, said he had major concerns. He said he did not believe a merger would achieve significant savings as there would be costs associated with reorganisation, including redundancy pay-offs for senior managers. Dr Rose said it would be harder for GPs to commission services and negotiate improvement for patients with a ‘great, big Basingstoke trust’, as opposed to a ‘smaller, more malleable Winchester trust’. He said: “My concern is what happens down the line. To make real savings they must be looking at getting rid of services.”