Merger of Colchester and Ipswich hospitals

 

Colchester Hospital and Ipswich Hospital merger 1 July 2018

Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) brings together the two trusts that previously ran Colchester (CHUFT) and Ipswich (IHT) hospitals.

With shared leadership in place since 2016, the merger was a sensible next step. As a single organisation, less money will be spent on overheads and duplication.

By bringing our teams and resources together, ESNEFT can focus on seeing patients at the right time, attracting and keeping the best staff and providing the latest treatments locally.

Running through everything we do is our new philosophy of “time matters”, which will remove avoidable stress and frustration for our patients, their families and our staff.

The merger process took around two years. This was a lengthy time period but it is important that the NHS, our regulators and stakeholders were assured we could deliver on our aims.

Our staff and patients and partners also needed to be engaged with our plans, to make sure we provide all our communities with excellent healthcare.

The process went through various stages.  There was a strategic outline case in January 2017, then an outline business case in August 2017 and the final business case which was approved at the end of March 2018.

ESNEFT began serving its local residents on 01 July 2018, in the same week as the NHS’s 70th anniversary.

The largest NHS organisation in the region, ESNEFT has around 10,000 staff providing services from Colchester and Ipswich hospitals, local hospitals and clinics and some community services.

We are excited about the possibilities that ESNEFT will offer our local residents and staff. We will continue to engage with local people as ESNEFT develops over the months and years ahead.

merger of Colchester and Ipswich hospitals – ESNEFT Document library (esneftdoclibrary.org.uk)

  • Strategic Outline Case
  • Outline Business Case
  • Outline Business Case
  • Full Business Case
  • Appendices to Full Business Case

 

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