Acute Provider Collaborative
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) Acute Provider Collaborative (APC)
Under the Health and Care Act 2022 NHS providers have a duty to collaborate. Provider Collaboratives bring together two or more NHS providers to work together at scale to benefit their populations.
There are three Provider Collaboratives in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire – NBT and UHBW are the Acute one – established in September 2021.
The APC builds on the long and successful history of collaboration between NBT and UHBW – from stroke services to the Bristol ECMO service. The APC is focused on delivering better, more equitable, outcomes for patients, delivering efficiency and innovation and ensuring the very best opportunities for staff.
Our pledges as an Acute Provider Collaborative
As an Acute Provider Collaborative we have made pledges to:
- Demonstrate improved access and experience, and work together to provide better outcomes for patients and address inequalities.
- Enable our staff to have development opportunities across the whole of Bristol and Weston.
- Build productive relationships amongst our clinical and support teams across both our organisations - we will work through difficult situations together.
- Agree joint priorities and plan for the future together.
- Develop our people with wider system resilience in mind.
- Share corporate services that are effective and deliver efficiency and productivity gains.
- Ensure the highest level of efficiency possible – delivering the most we can from our resources.
- Share our data and digital technologies.
- Support the wider community through our responsibilities as Anchor Institutions.
Joint Clinical Strategy
A key focus of the APC has been developing a Joint Clinical Strategy (JCS). The JCS sets a clear direction for our work together. It outlines our clinical vision for services that are seamless, high quality and equitable.
Our JCS sets out a fully joined-up approach between NBT and UHBW that will unlock significant benefits for our patients, our people and our communities.
The JCS builds on and complements the strategies and visions of both organisations - it doesn’t replace them.
Both NBT and UHBW have committed to formally create the right environment which allows deeper collaboration to flourish and enable delivery of our Joint Clinical Strategy.
A Hospital Group model
To enable us to deliver our Joint Clinical Strategy both Trusts will form a Hospital Group.
Ingrid Barker has been appointed Joint Chair for both organisations following an open competitive process. She will take up the position on 1 June 2024.
Following the appointments of our Joint Chair and Joint Chief Executive, it is our strategic intent to form a Hospital Group within the next two years to help remove barriers that can sometimes get in the way of providing seamless patient care between our organisations.
This is not a merger, we are joining forces to address shared challenges around workforce, estates and finances whilst remaining independent Trusts.
NHS Trusts nationwide are working together at scale to benefit their populations. This is a fundamental shift in the way the health and care system is organised, moving from an emphasis on organisational autonomy and competition to collaboration and partnership working.
The exact model and extent of a Group varies significantly across the NHS but essentially a Group is comprised of at least two NHS providers who retain their own identity but have agreed to pool resources in defined areas and have shared leadership and governance.
Be involved
Regular communications and engagement will be critical to the process – we will ensure that our patients and communities have a real voice.
More information on how you can be involved will be shared soon.
