The first three mental health foundation trusts have been authorised in England. Monitor, the UK’s independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, has named them as Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The regulator says that the trusts will be financially viable, well governed, and legally constituted. William Moyes, chairman of Monitor, said, “NHS foundation trust status will allow them to further develop services, taking advantage of the freedoms that foundation trust status provides.”
The new mental health foundation trusts bring the total number of existing NHS foundation trusts to 35.
Foundation trusts are part of the UK government’s 10 year programme of investment, expansion, and reform of the NHS set out in the NHS plan. They are independent public benefit corporations, modelled on cooperative and mutual traditions.
Foundation trusts differ from standard trusts in:
Having special freedom to decide locally how to meet their obligations
Being accountable to local people, who will become members and governors;
Being authorised and monitored by the independent regulator for NHS foundation trusts; and
Having more freedom than other trusts from day to day central government controls and greater financial freedoms (including being able to retain operating surpluses).
A further 21 applications for foundation trust status are being considered over the next three months.
Sue Slipman, director of the Foundation Trust Network, said that a number of initiatives to help new applicants were being created. “The Foundation Trust Network will do all it can to share the learning from those who have already been through the process to ensure as many trusts as possible can benefit from foundation trust status,” she said.
To help applicants, a guide for NHS mental health trusts seeking to become NHS foundation trusts has been launched jointly by the Department of Health and Monitor. The guide presents examples of how foundation status is beneficial to mental health providers.
The health department, Monitor, and the strategic health authorities are also considering the development of a programme specifically to assess the financial robustness of mental health trusts. This will be based on the whole health community diagnostic project already under way, which consists of tools to assess the viability of all NHS acute trusts that have not yet applied to become NHS foundation trusts. Applying for NHS Foundation Trust Status: Guide for Mental Health NHS Trusts can be found at www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk.
