At its meeting on Thursday, January 22, the health and wellbeing board will be provided with an update on the integration of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHH) and Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCH).
A report to the board says there are currently no financial implications for Warrington Borough Council directly related to the integration of WHH and BCH.
It adds that the integration is essential to enabling the delivery of ‘financially sustainable’ healthcare services for the borough.
According to a presentation, attached to a report to the board, Better Care Together is a programme of work being undertaken to integrate WHH – acute trust – and BCH – community trust – into a single organisation.
It states this will improve care for patients, for example ‘100 additional people per month’ accessing urgent community response instead of attending the emergency department.
Other reasons given for why it is ‘so important’ comprise that it generates a more efficient use of resources, with an estimated financial benefit up to £33 million (£12 million ‘direct’ and £21 million ‘indirect’) – as well as supports staff development, and enables ‘sustainable services’.
The document highlights that the full business case has been finalised, which has been approved by both trust boards. It adds ‘we hope to become a single organisation’ on April 1.