The North Mid and Royal Free London Partnership

Following several years of closer working between North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and the Royal Free London group, we are now looking at how we could come together as one organisation. We believe it would enable us to go further and faster in improving services for patients and improving the health of our local community.

North Mid has been a clinical partner with the Royal Free London group since 2017 and we have been in a formal partnership since 2021. Our experience has shown that we can achieve more together than we can apart, delivering better care for local people and more opportunities for our staff.

Over the coming months we will be developing detailed plans for coming together, with North Mid potentially merging to become part of the Royal Free London group alongside Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.

Logo representing North Mid as a member of the Royal Free London group

Our hospitals would continue to provide the same local services. At North Mid, these include A&E, maternity, intensive care, paediatrics, acute surgery, medicine and community services.

However, by coming together as one, we expect to be able to deliver:

  • reduced waiting times
  • improved access to specialist care locally
  • better joined-up community services
  • greater opportunities to benefit from the latest medical research and trials of new treatments
  • more coordinated action to help people stay healthy, with screening and early intervention services tailored to our different communities.

The plans we are developing will form a business case which will then need to be approved by both trusts’ boards and NHS England. We are working to have the business case completed by summer 2024 and to bring the organisations together in autumn 2024.

Until then, we will continue working together as we do now to provide the best possible care for our patients. We will be talking with our staff, patients and local communities to explain our plans so they can help shape the improvements made possible by our new shared future.

We will share updates on our website and with patients, staff, our local community and other stakeholdershere as this work progresses. In the meantime, you can contact us with any queries or comments at rf.northmid@nhs.net

Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the partnership

How will the proposed merger benefit patients?

By merging we aim to improve the quality of services, celebrate the expertise of our individual hospitals and community services, and provide an excellent patient experience.

The range of services provided from each of our hospitals will remain the same, but patients will be treated more quickly and able to access more specialist care in expert hubs, with convenient local follow-up and more joined-up community care.

There will be more opportunities to benefit from the latest medical research and trials of new treatments and there will be more support to help keep people healthy, with tailored screening and early intervention services for our local communities.

 

What will it mean for patients who use our hospitals?

Our hospitals would continue to provide the same local services. At North Mid, these include A&E, maternity, intensive care, paediatrics, acute surgery, medicine and community services.  There are no plans to change the way routine care is currently provided in Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital if North Mid joins the Royal Free London group.

 

What will be the financial impact?

Our plans to come together as one organisation are driven by our shared aim to provide better, more joined-up and sustainable services for our patients and communities. This is not about cutting costs. Although it will enable us to be more efficient in our use of resources, making the most effective use of our combined budgets. Any savings made will be retained within the organisation to be reinvested in further improved services.

 

Why are you proposing to merge together now?

The way healthcare is provided has changed significantly in recent years. Local health and care partners are increasingly working together to tackle shared challenges and to improve health and care for their local populations.

We are proud of what we have achieved already through our partnership, including

  • improving care through redesigned pathways known as clinical practice groups (CPGs)
  • reducing waiting times and providing more access to specialist treatment and elective care through the establishment of surgical hubs
  • sharing some corporate support services to be more efficient in staffing, estates, facilities, training and research
  • enabling more co-ordinated action on reducing inequalities, environmental sustainability, employment pathways and supporting healthy lifestyles.

However, given the scale of challenge that health and care services face, and our shared aim of improving the health of our local communities, we believe that joining together as one will enable us to go further and faster in achieving our ambitions.

 

Is this linked to North Mid’s recent CQC maternity report or the Start Well maternity proposals?

No. We have been working in ever closer partnership for several years now and our plans to come together are driven only by our shared aim to improve services for patients and the health of our local communities.

As part of a larger group, we will be able to strengthen and build the resilience of services across all our hospitals by sharing expertise and resources.

Our work to bring our organisations together does not include any plans to reorganise services and is not linked with the Start Well maternity proposals.

 

Will there be a consultation on the proposed merger

While our aim is to provide better, more joined-up and sustainable services for our patients and communities, our plans do not involve any specific service change proposals that would require formal consultation. As we develop our business case, we will be talking with our staff, patients and local communities to explain our plans so they can help shape the improvements made possible by our new shared future. You can contact us with any queries or comments at rf.northmid@nhs.net