Our partnership with Royal Free London

In north central London the number of people with cancer is rising and is expected to increase 42% by 2030 with the Royal Free London currently caring for the largest number of patients with suspected cancer in London. At North Mid, the picture is similar. Meeting our cancer targets is a challenge against this backdrop.

Oncology services are a critical part of the cancer pathway, providing treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Through the merger we can change how we work to provide care where it is needed the most, reducing time to treatment and ensuring all our patients can access the latest, most effective advances in cancer care, no matter where they live. 

What you can expect

• increased access to specialist advice and cancer treatments
• more care closer to home
• greater opportunities to take part in clinical trials and research

We will work to establish ourselves as a bowel cancer treatment centre focused on innovation through the use of robotic technology, early screening and 24/7 specialist care close to home.

Through our current partnership some North Mid patients already have their colorectal surgery at the RFL. However, by removing organisational barriers, such as different processes and systems, we can reduce the time people have to wait between diagnosis and treatment and improve outcomes by increasing the numbers of patients who are diagnosed early.

What you can expect

• more care closer to home
• more specialist nursing care, with a focus on recovery, so you can go home from hospital earlier
• greater opportunities to take part in clinical trials and research

We know from our joint work to establish the elective orthopaedic centre at Chase Farm Hospital in 2021 that separating planned, non-complex surgery from emergency treatment can be hugely effective in reducing waiting times and preventing cancellations.

We will draw on the success of our existing surgical hubs to create a network of centres
of surgical excellence. We will create additional hubs for general surgery, gynaecology, urology and ear, nose and throat where we know we have a large number of patients needing planned procedures. Here patients will be seen more quickly for common procedures and receive consistently excellent care.

What you can expect

• outpatient appointments at whichever of our hospitals is closest to your home
• less risk of surgery being cancelled
• shorter hospital stays

Evidence from across the world shows that hospitals that undertake research provide better care and outcomes overall. By tackling the current inequalities in access to research trials, where legal and regulatory barriers limit the collaboration that is possible at present, we will enable greater access to potentially life-changing innovative treatments for North Mid patients and a more diverse patient base for RFL trials.

Our merger will open up different areas for potential research, such as sickle cell and thalassemia, heart failure, lupus, liver and renal disease, urgent and critical care and older people’s health.

What you can expect

• more choice of trial opportunities
• earlier access to new drugs and interventions
• more clinical trials designed to meet the needs of local patients
• service improvements driven through our greater understanding of our population’s health

How will the proposed merger benefit patients?

By merging we aim to improve the quality of services, celebrate the expertise of our individual hospitals and community services, and provide an excellent patient experience.

The range of services provided from each of our hospitals will remain the same, but patients will be treated more quickly and able to access more specialist care in expert hubs, with convenient local follow-up and more joined-up community care.

There will be more opportunities to benefit from the latest medical research and trials of new treatments and there will be more support to help keep people healthy, with tailored screening and early intervention services for our local communities.

 

What will it mean for patients who use our hospitals?

Our hospitals would continue to provide the same local services. At North Mid, these include A&E, maternity, intensive care, paediatrics, acute surgery, medicine and community services.  There are no plans to change the way routine care is currently provided in Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital if North Mid joins the Royal Free London group.

 

What will be the financial impact?

Our plans to come together as one organisation are driven by our shared aim to provide better, more joined-up and sustainable services for our patients and communities. This is not about cutting costs. Although it will enable us to be more efficient in our use of resources, making the most effective use of our combined budgets. Any savings made will be retained within the organisation to be reinvested in further improved services.

 

Why are you proposing to merge together now?

The way healthcare is provided has changed significantly in recent years. Local health and care partners are increasingly working together to tackle shared challenges and to improve health and care for their local populations.

We are proud of what we have achieved already through our partnership, including

• improving care through redesigned pathways known as clinical practice groups (CPGs)
• reducing waiting times and providing more access to specialist treatment and elective care through the establishment of surgical hubs
• sharing some corporate support services to be more efficient in staffing, estates, facilities, training and research
• enabling more co-ordinated action on reducing inequalities, environmental sustainability, employment pathways and supporting healthy lifestyles.

However, given the scale of challenge that health and care services face, and our shared aim of improving the health of our local communities, we believe that joining together as one will enable us to go further and faster in achieving our ambitions.

 

Is this linked to North Mid’s recent CQC maternity report or the Start Well maternity proposals?

No. We have been working in ever closer partnership for several years now and our plans to come together are driven only by our shared aim to improve services for patients and the health of our local communities.

As part of a larger group, we will be able to strengthen and build the resilience of services across all our hospitals by sharing expertise and resources.

Our work to bring our organisations together does not include any plans to reorganise services and is not linked with the Start Well maternity proposals.