Agenda item

Patrick Crowley, Chief Executive will provided Members with a verbal update, presentation attached.

Patrick Crowley, Chief Executive, Pennine Acute Trust gave a presentation updating the Committee on the progress made in relation to the Formal Transaction of Pennine Acute Trust.

It was reported that phase 1 of the Transaction had been completed on 1 April 2021 when services had been disaggregated as planned and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) had acquired North Manchester General Hospital by commercial transfer.

Phase 2 of the transaction which was the legal aspect was due to be completed on 1 October 2021 with the transfer of Oldham, Rochdale and Bury Care Organisations to Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust (known as the Northern Care Alliance).

Pennine Acute NHS Trust would be dissolved.

It was explained that the Transactions are being delivered in order to:

•      Help support and complement local integrated healthcare plans

•      To better meet the population health needs of local communities

•      Strengthen community support

•      Deliver more care closer to home

•      Maximise the use of estates on the PAT footprint

•      Support acute hospital services

•      Strengthen the delivery of both acute and community based services

This will see:

•      Improved population health

•      Improved patient experience

•      Improved quality of care

•      Improved finances

•      Improved staff experience

•      Improved education and training

•      Improved operational performance

The actions required to conclude the Transaction were reported as:-

•      Formal consideration by NHS Improvement on 14 September

•      Formal approval by Salford Royal Trust Board and Council of Governors

•      Formal approval by MFT Trust Board

•      Formal approval by Pennine Acute Trust Board

•      Signature of the Transfer and Dissolution Orders by the Secretary of State

•      Transfer letters issued to staff

It was explained that the Transaction was  being implemented on an “as is” basis – no changes to services on Day 1.

The transactions were undertaken because Pennine Acute was seen as unsustainable.  Therefore, it has always been understood that post transaction the successor Trusts (MFT and NCA) will seek to reconfigure some services, drawing on the strength of their wider organisations.

Existing service provision is currently being maintained through service level agreements between MFT and SRFT with plans to gradually exit from many of these service level agreements, which will require further disaggregation of former Pennine Acute services, are being developed by the end of September.

It was explained that in many cases, disaggregation will relate to each organisation providing the full existing service themselves rather than relying on support through an SLA from the other Trust.

In some cases there may be a change to patient flow to other sites for some procedures but any changes to patient flows will be the subject of discussion with commissioners.

Where wider stakeholder consultation and engagement is required, this will be undertaken, including with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee(s) and Healthwatch.

It was explained that this Joint Health O & S Committee was originally established to scrutinise “Heathy Futures” and “Making it Better” in the early 2000s.

The Committee originally covered Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester councils.  In last few years the Manchester HOSC has taken an overview of NMGH.

Dissolution of Pennine Acute presents the opportunity for the Committee to consider options for the future – three potential options being: maintain overview of Bury, Oldham and Rochdale services; seek to establish a new committee with Salford to mirror the new NCA footprint; dis-establish the Committee and hand back responsibility to individual boroughs.

Pennine Acute, being dissolved, has no view on what future arrangements might be, but is keen to ensure that the matter is considered to ensure continued effective overview and scrutiny of former Pennine services.

It was agreed:

1.   That Pat be thanked for his presentation.

2.   That the contents of the report be noted.