A north east hospital trust has been recognised as one of the best in England

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been given Advanced Foundation Trust (AFT) status.

This follows an announcement in November last year by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that eight trusts from across the country would be assessed as part of the first wave of the AFT programme.

Northumbria Healthcare was one of the chosen few because of its proven track record of managing finances well and delivering excellent care patients.

Since November, the trust has been through a very rigorous assessment process by NHS England.

They were assessed against priority areas including leadership, performance and quality of care, financial sustainability and if we are a good partner.

Dr Birju Bartoli, chief executive officer of Northumbria Healthcare, said: “Being an advanced foundation trust is testament to all our staff and to their hard work, commitment and drive for excellence and improvement.

“It also reflects that we are committed to continue to work closely with our wide range of partners and community organisations to deliver the very best care and experience for our patients.

“This should give patients, our staff and the local communities we serve confidence in our services and confirmation that we continually strive to improve for them all.”

The detail of what this means to Northumbria Healthcare will develop over time, but there are three core freedoms that they now have.

It will provide some financial freedoms for the way the trust can invest more in local health services, while focussing on population health needs.

This is important as the communities Northumbria Healthcare serve are very different and have different health needs to those in other parts of the country.

There will be a capability-based regulatory approach by NHS England.

The assessment also considered how the trust is planning to deliver the three key shifts set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.

Dr Bartoli continued: “The other opportunity that comes from being an advanced foundation trust is the ability for us to hold an integrated care organisation (IHO) contract. We are one of only two trusts nationally who have been identified to be a potential IHO. We have lots to do to work towards this.

“We will of course work closely with everyone we need to, including NHS, local authority and community partners, as part of this. I am extremely proud to be in this position.”