Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the Board of Directors had already recognised that if we were to grow and develop sustainably as a Trust, our existing operating model needed to change.
Against a backdrop of NHS financial challenges, our significant growth following several acquisitions and the impact of the pandemic, we were presented with a unique opportunity to start to develop and shape a new and pioneering Trust wide operating model. This is something that will build on the knowledge and expertise that we own collectively as the new Mersey Care but will need to look very different than it does today.
Building on what we have learned together, and alongside feedback about what matters most to our staff, patients, service users and their families, we’re now able to refresh our focus to improve the overall quality and experiences of our staff and the many different communities we serve.
In doing this we have sought world-leading external expert guidance and used an evidence-based methodology to help design and future proof the blueprint of a new Trust wide operating model.
We will now take a more holistic view about what, how and when care is delivered by using data and insight better to inform our strategy, and in turn our delivery, and focus much more on those who would really benefit from preventative care. We want to improve health and wellbeing, meet our patient and service user needs much earlier and take more action to reduce health inequalities.
We want to manage change better, in a more strategic and sequenced way with a real focus on safety, help to make your working life more productive and free up time too for you to do what you do best - care.
We have mapped the Trust’s existing clinical divisions to focus on our relationships with patients and service users, and as part of this, the Mid Mersey transitional division will be realigned into the new clinical divisions.
To enhance our system leadership capacity, we have changed and recruited into the following roles:
- Trish Bennett, Deputy Chief Executive of Clinical Services and Executive Director of Nursing and Operations
- Neil Smith, Deputy Chief Executive of Non Clinical Services and Financial Director
- Rob Collins, Exceutive Director of Finance (July, 2022).
- Lee Taylor, Director of Operations
- Donna Robinson, Director of Mental Health and Divisional Director Mental Health Care: Urgent care, addictions, community mental health and short-term inpatient beds
- Lee McMenemy, Divisional Director of Community Care: Prevention, wellbeing and care co-ordination
- Steve Newton, Divisional Director of Secure Care: Longer term secure services.
Our clinical services will be realigned and will be well supported by our Trust wide enabling support services (corporate services). Working more closely, these services remain key to enabling, communicating, engaging and professionally advising our staff, patients, service users, carers, stakeholders and our partner organisations to help continually improve the experience of Mersey Care for all.
Over the coming weeks and months, we will share the plans, listen to your feedback and set out the next steps of our journey and will give lots of opportunities to engage and ask questions on what these changes will mean for you and your teams. I hope that you will be excited and energised by what you hear and that it will get us all back to why we joined the NHS – to give the very best care for people who need us at some of the most difficult and challenging times in their lives.
The future is exciting. Together we are Mersey Care.
Watch our short animation which tells the story about our future plans.
