On 29 July 2024 we announced that the five adult acute and specialist hospital trusts in Liverpool had agreed to form a joint committee that would allow us to work more closely together to continue to deliver previously agreed recommendations from the Liverpool Clinical Services Review. This focused on improving the health of our population through collaborative working and reducing fragmentation of clinical services.
We promised to keep you updated on progress and developments on the work of the joint committee.
What has happened since our last update?
The shadow joint committee – which includes the chairs and chief executives of the five trusts – met for the first time on 19th September 2024.
We discussed the scope of the joint committee’s work and the wider Liverpool Adult Acute and Specialist Providers (LAASP) programme. This included the joint working agreement and the committee’s terms of reference outlining how the trusts will deliver this programme.
Since then, the proposals have been going to all our individual trust boards for review and subsequent approval with Liverpool Heart and Chest, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, and Liverpool University Hospitals board meetings this week. The Walton Centre and Liverpool Women’s boards will receive the documents in early October.
What does the joint working agreement cover?
The joint working agreement and terms of reference cover how we will seek to:
- Design, develop and implement decision-making arrangements to act as one on decisions that affect us all.
- Develop a case for change to support the development of a five-year plan to deliver the opportunities identified in the Liverpool Clinical Services Review for how we can deliver the best for our patients. It will include clinical services, research and innovation, workforce, digital and how we can get the best from estates, infrastructure, and corporate services.
- Manage financial planning, resources and risk as one, including a shared financial plan for 2025/26.
- Deliver efficient and effective corporate and support services, with transformation plans to achieve an average cost across different trusts.
The plans will also take into account the fact that all five trusts provide specialist services for a much wider geographical area than Liverpool and, in many cases, wider than Cheshire and Merseyside.
The joint committee is chaired by David Flory CBE, the Chair of Liverpool University Hospitals (LUHFT) and Liverpool Women’s (LWH). It will meet at least monthly and will be accountable to each trust board, with minutes going to trust boards.
What is next?
The next step is for the joint committee to begin to develop plans setting out how we aim to deliver this programme working with patients, colleagues, and partners in the coming months.
We will continue to keep you updated in the weeks and months ahead sharing more details and seeking to engage and involve patients, colleagues and partners in the development of these plans.