NHS Improvement has announced that Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is the preferred provider for the majority of Liverpool Community Health (LCH) NHS Trust’s south Sefton services from April 2017.

Whilst the majority of these community health services – like blood testing, community matrons, district nursing, Litherland Walk-in Centre, treatment rooms, leg and foot care, intermediate care, adult diabetes and adult dietetics - are provided to residents in south Sefton, a small number of services like IV therapy and community respiratory care are also used by Southport and Formby residents.

NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG have been working closely with NHS Improvement to evaluate the bids as part of the transaction process to determine the preferred provider, capable of delivering the CCGs’ joint Shaping Sefton vision of community centred health and care. 

Dr Andy Mimnagh, chair of NHS South Sefton CCG, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this process and believe that Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust will provide our patients with continued high quality community services that, over time, will be more responsive to their individual needs and work together more seamlessly with the other health and social care services involved in a person’s care because they are better joined up. Our residents have told us that this is what they expect and this has been integral to designing our Shaping Sefton vision of community centred health and care, and we are delighted that Mersey Care will progress the work we’ve already begun with LCH towards this vision, with wider partners, when it takes over the running of these services from 1 April 2017.”

Fiona Taylor, chief officer of both CCGs in Sefton, said: “We are delighted that we have now identified experienced NHS providers to deliver our community services that will support general practice and benefit Sefton residents. We will continue to work hard with all partners across the borough to drive the delivery of our Shaping Sefton vision, where all health and social care services work better together to make a real difference to the lives of people in the borough.”

Shaping Sefton is the CCGs’ joint programme for more joined up and more personalised care, where as many services as possible are provided closer to people’s homes in the community. The programme’s vision of community centred health and care is underpinned by the CCGs’ joint 5 year strategy and blueprint for transforming services – all of which have been informed by the views of local people, partners and health and social care professionals from across the borough.

As part of the NHS Improvement led process, the two CCGs in Sefton also identified the preferred provider for a small number of LCH’s more specialist children’s services. Subject to final agreement, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust will manage and provide paediatric occupational therapy, paediatric physiotherapy, paediatric speech and language therapy, paediatric complex needs and children’s dietetics in the borough.

The full NHS Improvement announcement explains why the change in management of these services is happening. It also confirms the preferred provider of LCH’s Liverpool services and other Sefton services commissioned by organisations like Sefton Council and NHS England.

This news does not relate to or affect the majority of community services used by Southport and Formby residents, which are currently provided by Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust. The management of these services will switch to Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust in May 2017 following the recent outcome of a separate re-procurement process led by NHS Southport and Formby CCG.

The CCG will ensure that these two new community service providers will work collaboratively towards the Shaping Sefton vision of community centred health and care.  

NHS Improvement, NHS South Sefton CCG, NHS Southport and Formby CCG, and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust will now complete financial and regulatory checks before the new arrangements for LCH’s south Sefton services are confirmed early next year.

You can find out more from the links below: 

• NHS Improvement's announcement - which gives more details of this process
• Shaping Sefton - read more about our transformation programme and vision for community centred health and care