End of “go-it-alone” hospitals as new vanguards announced

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, will this afternoon announce 13 new hospital vanguards to pilot joined-up hospital networks, ending “the era of go-it-alone individual hospitals”.

The Acute Care Collaboration Vanguards, including “some of the best-known and best-run hospitals in Britain”, such as The Royal Marsden and the Royal Free (see the full list below), are designed to “spread excellence”.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, will this afternoon announce 13 new hospital vanguards to pilot joined-up hospital networks, ending “the era of go-it-alone individual hospitals”.

This will be done with a three-pronged method. Firstly, excellently-performing individual NHS hospitals will form NHS Foundation Groups to raise standards across a chain of hospitals. Secondly, individual clinical services at local District General Hospitals will be run onsite by specialists from regional centres of excellence (for example, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and neurosciences).

Lastly, the vanguards will form ‘accountable clinical networks’ integrating care across District General Hospitals and teaching hospitals for key services, including cancer and mental health.

During a speech to the Confederation of British Industry in London this afternoon, Stevens will say: “The era of go-it-alone individual hospitals is now being superceded by more integrated care partnerships – both within local areas, and across different parts of the country.

“Our new approach to hospital partnerships will help sustain the viability of local hospitals, share clinical and management expertise across geographies, and drive efficiency beyond the walls of individual institutions.”

The vanguard completes NHS England’s plan for new care models set out in the Five Year Forward View.

Stevens added: “We’ve got some of the world’s best hospitals and specialists in this country, and it’s right they should be able to extend their reach more widely, as the vanguard programme will now allow them to do.”

The 13 vanguards will be:

Multihospital chains

· Salford and Wigan Foundation Chain

· Northumbria Foundation Group

· Royal Free London

Multisite specialty franchises

· Dartford and Gravesham (small District General Hospital making use of specialty franchises)

· Moorfields (Ophthalmology)

· National Orthopaedic Alliance (Orthopaedics)

· The Neuro Network (The Walton, Liverpool) (Neurology and spinal specialty)

Accountable clinical networks

· MERIT (Birmingham and Solihull) (Mental Health Accountable Clinical Network);