FRIMLEY Park Hospital has succeeded in its bid to become a foundation trust, with more independence from the NHS - one of only 31 trusts to have achieved the status. Foundation trusts are a new type of NHS hospital tailored to the needs of local populations and run by local managers, staff and members of the public. The independent regulator for foundation trusts, Monitor, announced the new status for Frimley Park last Friday with immediate effect, marking a new era in the hospital's 30-year history. The hospital was only prevented from an earlier bid for foundation status when it received a two-star rating in 2003 because of a debt inherited from the now defunct West Surrey Health Authority. The move means it will be freer from Whitehall control, able to set some of its own targets and rates of pay and will be run through a council of locally elected governors representing patients' views and working alongside the board of directors to shape services. Leading up to establishment, the trust recruited 5,807 members, all of whom have had the opportunity to vote for members of the new council of governors. Foundation trust status is expected to bring many benefits to patients, including an extra £2 million in funding. A new financial regime (Payment by Results) will favour Frimley and alleviate some of the financial constraints it has worked under in the past few years. Payment by Results means that current activity and cost efficiencies will be recognised and rewarded financially. Jane Cooke, trust chairman, said: "This really is an exciting time for the hospital. The trust board is looking forward to working with the council of governors to get the best possible start for our new status." "The work-up to attaining this new status has been enormous, but in truth the work has just begun. I'm sure that the NHS has always intended local people to be involved in the shaping of local health services. "Frimley has that today in the form of NHS foundation status and it is important that the trust benefits from its mutual status, and the membership take up the opportunities it brings." Frimley Park chief executive Andrew Morris said: "The hospital has always embraced change within the health service and balanced this against the needs of its community. "Foundation trust status will allow us to consolidate and enhance the work we are doing to develop the most appropriate treatments and deliver them in the most appropriate way." Simon Robbins, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority welcomed the announcement: "It is a credit to all the staff at Frimley Park that it has achieved foundation status following a rigorous assessment process. "Foundation status will bring many benefits including, the direct involvement of patients and the public in shaping their local health services which is central to the vision for healthcare across Surrey and Sussex." Elections for the 38-member council of governors were conducted in seven public constituencies and five staff constituencies by the Electoral Reform Society and were keenly contested, with just over 47 per cent of the eligible members voting. The number of places for each public constituency was determined by hospital admission rate, with Waverley being allocated two. The first meeting of the Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust council of governors will take place on Thursday, April 28.
