Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust will merge with St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals, chief executive Ann Marr has confirmed.
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals (SHKT) took over managing Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust (S&ONHS) in 2021.
Following the announcement of the resignation of SONHS Chief Executive Trish Armstrong-Child in 2021, the S&ONHS Trust Board had confirmed there were ‘a dozen or so ‘fragile’ clinical services’ which the Trust was struggling to continue offering alone – paving the way for an SHKT takeover.
The move was all but confirmed when SHKT Chief Executive Ann Marr took on the same role at S&ONHS in 2021.
S&ONHS staff received news of the merger yesterday, and have been informed that their employment contracts will move to SHKT.
Trust Chief Executive Ann Marr said: “The success of this relationship has meant both Trusts have been able to share best practice and learn from each other as they look to continually improve the care provided to local communities. Together, we have secured significant investment to further enhance services, improve patient experience, and offer greater scope for staff development.
“The next step in further developing and strengthening this relationship is to come together formally to create one single, new organisation.
“This means that staff working at both organisations will be brought under one umbrella brand, but the individual names of the Trusts’ hospitals and buildings will remain the same.
“As a single organisation, our size will help us better address the challenges faced. This should also help us attract investment and improve our ability to recruit talented colleagues across sites.
“This is a proposal at this stage, and we are engaging with staff to gain their views in the coming weeks. People across our communities will be informed at every stage of the move, which is designed to develop even better services for patients across Merseyside and West Lancashire.”