16 September 2020

A strategic case outlining the benefits of this proposal was presented to NHS England/Improvement for consideration in July. We have now received a formal response confirming that the proposal has been approved.

Mersey Care will now finalise a comprehensive business case outlining the detail for how the transition of staff and services will take place, which will be supported by a comprehensive due diligence process.

At this point we are still planning for the transaction to take place on 1 April 2021, or a date as soon as possible afterwards. There is potential for this date to be impacted upon to enable the robust due diligence and NHS assurance processes to take place, and there are also the implications of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Last week saw the launch event for the eight workstreams, which will support the delivery of the transaction. They are made up of representatives from across both organisations and are themed as follows:

  • Corporate governance
  • Clinical governance and quality
  • Communications and stakeholder engagement
  • Corporate services
  • Estates and facilities
  • Informatics and performance
  • Procurement, contracting and finance
  • Workforce and organisational effectiveness

We will continue to work closely with Mersey Care and keep you updated with all further developments.

In addition, we are hoping to have further updates on the transfer of services in Wigan, Greater Manchester and Bolton to Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. They too will be going through a robust due diligence process.

We know the future of our Trust matters to you and as soon as we are able to, we promise to provide more details, and continue to involve you in conversations, listen to your views and answer your questions.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, you might find the information you're looking for in the updated questions and answers on StaffZone. Alternatively, speak to your line manager or send your questions to ourfuture@nwbh.nhs.uk.