About Foundation Trusts

Foundation Trusts – What are they?

NHS Foundation Trusts are a new type of organisation, created under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003. NHS Foundation Trusts remain part of the NHS but are established as independent, not-for-profit, public-benefit corporations, accountable to their local communities rather than Central Government control. Four key characteristics distinguish NHS Foundation Trusts from NHS Trusts:

Freedom to decide locally how to meet their obligations and the needs of local people

Accountable to local people, who can become members and Governors

Authorised and monitored by Monitor, an Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts.

Freedom to invest surpluses in developing new services for local people

The Secretary of State for Health has no powers of direction over Foundation Trusts and they exist to provide and develop healthcare services for NHS patients in a way that is consistent with NHS standards and principles - free care, based on need not ability to pay.

In line with the programme of reforms set out in The NHS Plan, NHS Foundation Trusts give more power and a greater voice to their local communities and front line staff over the delivery and development of local healthcare. NHS Foundation Trusts have members drawn from patients, the public and staff and are governed by a Council of Governors comprising people elected from and by the membership.

Foundation Trusts are inspected by the Healthcare Commission for compliance with healthcare standards and targets in the same way as all other NHS Trusts.

Why become a Foundation Trust?

The NHS is changing rapidly, with new technology and clinical advances being made every day, and rising expectations from patients and the public. This means we will have to do things differently in the future. We believe that by becoming a Foundation Trust we can maximise those opportunities that these changes will bring. Here you will find details on why we want to become a Foundation Trust There are many benefits to achieving Foundation Trust status but the one which we find most exciting is that people who live in our local communities, as well as our staff, can become members of the Trust and have a real influence on the way the Trust and the health services we deliver develop over the coming years. As a Foundation Trust we would have more control over our finances, service provision and long-term planning, allowing us to embrace the changes taking place in the NHS and to break new ground in the range and quality of services we can offer.

More Freedom

Foundation Trusts are still firmly part of the NHS,still subject to NHS princples, standards, and systems of inspection but crucially, they are freed from Department of Health control. Foundation Trusts are locally accountable organisations with new governance structures which include membership and voting rights that give local people and staff greater involvement and influence. This means we can work together to meet the new challenges and to develop services that our service users, carers, GPs and other partners want.

Becoming a Foundation Trust

Our aim is to become a Foundation Trust on 1st December 2008. We know you will have lots of questions about Foundation Trusts and our future plans. We hope these pages will help to answer some of them. However if you do not find the answer you are looking, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Further details about Foundation Trusts from the Department of Health website.