A new Foundation Trust caring for a population of around 620,000 people in and around Bedfordshire has come into operation on April1, 2020. This follows the merger of Bedford Hospital NHS Trust and the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for managing services at both Bedford and Luton. Each individual hospital will retain its name.
The new integrated Trust will bring together a combined workforce of approximately 8,000 staff.
The new organisation has one Trust Board and will continue to deliver a full range of services on both sites.
This includes retaining key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics at Bedford.
David Carter, chief executive at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Today is a significant moment for healthcare in Bedfordshire, with the creation of a single NHS Foundation Trust to provide secondary care services for the people of Bedfordshire.
“It has been a longer than anticipated journey to get to this point and we’re proud to have officially merged and are looking forward to achieving the ambitions we have for Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as soon as we move out of these incredibly challenging times.”
The two hospitals already worked closely together for a number of years in various clinical services. Such as Neonatal Intensive Care, Vascular surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial (OMF), Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) and Stroke services.