July 1 marked a significant milestone in healthcare with the launch of the Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (BFT).
The new trust has been formed by a merger between North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, creating one of the biggest health trusts in the country, with 28,000 members of staff and a £2.6 billion annual turnover.
The new organisation has been formed to give people across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire better access to seamless, high quality, equitable and sustainable health care.
Bringing the two organisations together removes some of the barriers that have prevented healthcare across the city being as joined up as it should be, and now that teams are part of the same trust, they can continue to improve services to benefit the local population and patients across the South West and beyond.
The merger started when clinicians from the two former trusts joined forces to create a Group Clinical Strategy. As teams worked to develop these aims, they realised being a single organisation would make it easier to deliver these ambitious plans.
There are 10 clinical services across BFT already working together as single, joined-up teams to reduce duplication and streamline services.
Joining forces also increases the research and innovation potential for the new trust. It was revealed recently that merging means that BFT ranks ahead of any other trust in the country for the amount of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) received. This firmly places Bristol in a prime position to continue to improve care and cutting-edge treatments for the local population, as well as across the South West, nationally and internationally.
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust chief executive, Maria Kane, said at the time: “This is a momentous day for health services in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and we are delighted to now be one single organisation working together to improve care for patients, support our people, reduce inequalities across our population and make the best use of public resources.
“While merging is a significant milestone, it is just a step on our journey and we look forward to building on the foundations we have already laid to ensure Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is fit for the future and continues to grow and innovate to provide the best care for our patients.”
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust chair, Ingrid Barker, added: “I’m incredibly proud to have been part of this journey so far, and now that we are one organisation, I’m excited to see what our 28,000 colleagues will achieve together for the people whose lives we touch.
“But we know this is not something we can do alone. By working closely with our partners across health and care, the voluntary sector, our Community Participation Group, Council of Governors, and the people and communities we serve, we will shape the kind of organisation we want to become.”
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust formation officer, Paula Clarke, said: “People accessing care with us will still be cared for by their local teams, but merging means we can improve the ways our services work together when someone needs to access care in more than one place.”
To support the merger of the trusts, Southmead Hospital Charity has now become part of Bristol and Weston Hospitals Charity With the launch of BFT, came the launch also of a new website – bristolft.nhs.uk – for news, events and information about the new organisation.