Birmingham hospitals to merge

Mar 30 2007

TWO Birmingham hospitals were today given the seal of approval to merge in a landmark ruling.

Heart of England Foundation Trust, which runs Heartlands and Solihull hospitals, will take over the running of Good Hope Hospital, in Sutton Coldfield, on Sunday.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today rubber-stamped the move, which is the first time an NHS hospital has merged with a semi-independent Foundation trust.

Good Hope bosses hope the merger will start a new phase for the troubled hospital and end years of debt and anxiety over cuts to services.

 It also means Heart of England Trust will become one of the biggest of its kind in the country, with nearly 10,000 staff and serving more than 1.5 million people across Solihull, south Staffordshire plus north, east and central Birmingham.

Mark Goldman, chief executive of Heart of England Trust, has pledged to maintain the A&E and local services at Good Hope despite the merger.

Mr Goldman said: "This management contract had a significant impact on the operational and financial performance of Good Hope.

"The new organisation has every opportunity to offer better and more variety of patient care in the future and go from strength to strength."

Heart of England, which also runs Birmingham Chest Clinic, stepped in to manage debt-hit Good Hope 18 months ago after a plea for help when debts reached more than £25 million.

The health secretary's decision comes after a 14 week public consultation in which 80 per cent of the public were in favour of the move.

Cynthia Bower, chief executive of West Midlands Health Authority, said: "For the first time in many years, after a long period of instability for patients and staff, there is now a secure and bright future for Good Hope Hospital."