Mid Mersey division / operational services

It is envisaged that all staff who deliver support services will transfer along with operational colleagues.

MCFT and NWBH provide very similar services, as per the table below.

We think there will be significant benefits to patients, such as:

• Improvements to patient safety and service effectiveness

• Reduction in clinical variation, better continuity of care and an increased ability to provide out of hours care

• Better access to beds due to ability to combine beds & restructure bed provision

• Ability to centralise of knowledge, leadership and expertise

• Greater capacity to address system-wide issues

Following the transaction, Mersey Care will aim to review all clinical services from a number of perspectives, including adequacy of services against demand and deprivation. If necessary, Mersey Care will adjust provision of services to meet demand and higher levels of social deprivation.

On day one of the acquisition, all management staff working in the Mid Mersey boroughs will transfer across to Mersey Care largely retaining their existing role. Mersey Care doesn’t intend to make any immediate changes until they have had an opportunity to fully assess the management arrangements in place across the boroughs. Mersey Care also intends to take the opportunity to take a look at their operating model following the acquisition. The aim will be to arrive at the best way of working to meet the needs of the patients and clients. Mersey Care has always strived to minimise compulsory redundancies in previous transactions, and they have been largely successful in doing this.  Mersey Care will endeavour to minimise any redundancies going forward within the enlarged Trust. 

The on call arrangements for the operational staff in the future Mid Mersey Division are currently being reviewed and staff the NWB staff will be consulted on the proposed arrangements in the coming weeks.

On day one of the acquisition, all staff working in the boroughs will transfer across to Mersey Care largely retaining their existing role and services will also continue to operate as usual. Mersey Care does not intend to make any immediate changes to services until they have had an opportunity to fully assess the management arrangements in place across the boroughs. Mersey Care also intends to take the opportunity to take a look at their operating model following the acquisition. The aim will be to arrive at the best way of working to meet the needs of patients and clients. In relation to any changes to working hours, this will only be considered after discussion with staff.

Mersey Care pay unsocial hours payments from 8.00pm to 6.00am (as per Agenda for Change) so there is no difference in payments to those already paid to staff in our Trust.

Mersey Care recognises the great work that we have done around peer support workers. Mersey Care is currently in the process of reviewing its patient/ service user involvement, and will ensure that best practice from North West Boroughs and Mersey Care will be embedded into this work. Mersey Care also recognises the importance of ensuring service users have a voice in care.

Mersey Care uses the Greenlight Toolkit Action Plan to support access into mental health services as well as other schemes operating, such as Learning Disability Champions.  Mersey Care will review, in a phased manner, what we currently have in place to see what they can learn and adapt for the enlarged organisation.

Currently all clinical staff in Mersey Care are in a uniform / work wear and have been since the start of the pandemic, if they were not already in a uniform.  Alongside this, Mersey Care are in the process of a consultation on draft 1 of a trust wide “uniform and workwear policy”. This is temporarily on hold pending the outcome of a national uniform procurement consultation which opened for a period of 7 weeks in mid-April. Following the outcome of this Mersey Care will revisit the draft policy and re-circulate for further comment.  All NWBH clinical staff will be included in this. The direction of opinion from a very clear majority in Mersey Care and national consultation to date is that all clinical staff would prefer to be in a uniform. There will be sometimes when this may not be appropriate and common sense will need to be applied, i.e. some rehabilitation Section 17 leave, community learning disability living escorts etc.  The Trust wide policy will also include facilities, social work, medical and psychology colleagues.

At the point of acquisition the Mid Mersey Division will continue with their Care Collaborative arrangements. Following the acquisition, a review will be commissioned by the Medical Director and the Director of Nursing and Operations to establish a consistent trust wide approach to “are Collaboratives and their equivalents across the enlarged Trust; Mid Mersey leaders will be key in shaping that approach.

It is envisaged that all services we deliver in the Cheshire and Merseyside footprint, including inpatient wards, will transfer to Mersey Care.   Our inpatient wards provide services for people in the boroughs in which they are located. These will still be needed after the transaction with Mersey Care has taken place.

Mersey Care does not currently employ housekeepers on their wards. However, this is being looked at. 2 hour touchpoint cleaning is being done as per COVID regulations, and will remain until at least September 2021. Following this, there will be a review of cleaning service requirements for the enlarged trust