Bedford and Luton & Dunstable Hospitals remain 'committed' to merger despite problems bringing plan to fruition

Bedford Hospital and Luton & Dunstable Hospital remain committed to their planned merger, despite problems bringing the plan to fruition it has been revealed.
Luton & Dunstable HospitalLuton & Dunstable Hospital
Luton & Dunstable Hospital

The Trust of both hospitals announced their intention to merge in September 2017, but their business plan has been beset by a delay in obtaining approval for outside investment.

As of yet, there is no date earmarked for when the merge will take place.

Stephen Conroy, CEO of Bedford Hospital and David Carter, CEO of L&D said: "We are very disappointed that our plans to merge have not yet reached fruition. Both Trusts entered into discussions around the merger with an absolute commitment to make this a reality and have worked extremely hard in the planning for this proposal.

"We both remain committed to pursuing these plans in the future as they provide the right solution to develop sustainable health care services for the growing local population."

A spokesman on behalf of both trusts stated: "Significant work has taken place to develop plans and review the Full Business Case (FBC) submitted to national regulators (NHS England / Improvement).

"Alongside the submission of the FBC, the Trusts submitted a separate business case for capital investment, outlining the means by which the full benefits of the merger would be realised.

"Although there has been a delay in obtaining approval for this investment and no firm date yet proposed to create a single Foundation NHS Trust, the partnership approach established by the two hospitals continues with real progress made in exploring the opportunities this will bring such as developing collaborative working within Pathology and Information Management Technology (IMT) services.

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