The Boards of Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals (ORH) and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre| (NOC) have agreed to develop proposals to integrate the Trusts and the services they provide. This will mean creating an overarching acute provider for Oxfordshire, able to achieve Foundation Trust status within the next three years.

Both Trusts have held board meetings in the last week where they agreed to explore options to create an integrated organisation under a new name. By joining forces, the ORH and the NOC will create an integrated provider of acute services for Oxfordshire, which will be better placed to ensure that patients continue to receive access to the world-class services provided by both organisations.

The different hospital sites will retain their current names and identities, within the overarching NHS Trust. The NOC will continue to provide the same range of specialist services for which it is famous, from the current site in Windmill Road, Headington.  Similarly, the John Radcliffe, the Churchill and the Horton General hospitals will retain their separate identities and service portfolios.

Chief Executive of the NOC, Jan Fowler, said:

"The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre is one of the best performing trusts in the South Central region with exceptional patient safety and infection control standards, delivering high quality services from brand new hospital buildings.

"Our reputation means that we receive patients from across the UK with complex problems and conditions that other hospitals are unable to treat.

"By joining forces, the NOC and the ORH can harness the joint expertise and natural clinical synergies between the organisations.  The proposed integration seeks to create an organisation with greater resilience in the current economic climate and with the potential to deliver a successful Foundation Trust application."

Sir Jonathan Michael Chief Executive of the ORH said:

"The ORH and the NOC have been developing closer relationships for some time, and collaborate in a number of clinical services. With all the changes happening within the NHS now, both Trust Boards believe that the moment is right for both organisations to come together in an integrated organisation which will allow us new opportunities of working together to serve our common goals of excellence in patient care, research and clinical education.

"We will be developing detailed plans to ensure that we move forward towards achieving Foundation Trust status as quickly as possible. This is good news for both trusts and for patients from Oxfordshire and beyond who recognise our hospitals as centres of excellence."

A joint project steering group which will be chaired by an Executive Director from the NOC is being established by both trusts and a business plan is being developed for submission to the Department of Health for approval. Arrangements will be made for staff and patients to comment on the proposals and feed their views to the Trust Boards during the Autumn.  Updates will be provided as plans develop.

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