Wirral Community NHS Trust and Mersey Care NHS Trust in the North West have been authorised as foundation trusts by new regulator NHS Improvement, effective from 1 May.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said:

“It’s great to see two more trusts being given foundation trust status particularly in community healthcare and secure services. Mersey Care is the second provider of high secure services to become a foundation trust. This follows the recent confirmations of Birmingham Community Healthcare and Sussex Community as foundation trusts showing that foundation trust status remains a legitimate and sensible aspiration for NHS trusts.

“The twin pillars of the foundation trust concept – greater provider autonomy and local accountability – mean that both providers will now have the freedom to develop more tailored services that meet the needs of the populations they serve, strengthening their accountability to local people.

“Achievement of this kind is a testament to the hard work and commitment of every member of staff at both organisations, the strength of their governance and the relevance of the foundation trust model in providing excellent patient care and services.”

This shows that foundation trust status remains a legitimate and sensible aspiration for NHS trusts

The announcement means that there are now 157 foundation trusts, more than 60% of all NHS trusts.

Read full press statement.