Why we have merged
7 reasons why we have merged
UH Bristol and WAHT have now merged to become University
Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. We have a shared
ambition to ensure Weston General Hospital remains at the heart of
the community, providing services that meet the needs of its local
people. We are stronger together and merging brings many benefits.
It's an exciting and unique opportunity to create a new
organisation with a greater purpose, which is seen as a beacon for
outstanding education, research and innovation.
1. We now have a 13,000+ strong workforce
You read it right - our combined workforce is now over
13,000! This increases our diversity, capacity and resilience. It
will allow for greater development opportunities for our staff
across a much wider portfolio of services, strengthening the
knowledge base, peer support and skills and experience of all our
staff, as well as helping us deliver exceptional local services for
local people and specialist services across the South West and
beyond.
2. We have an opportunity to create something
new
By taking everything that's good about Weston and
everything that's good about UH Bristol we are creating something
that's even better and with a greater purpose. The merger is not
about simply bolting one organisation onto the other. To that end,
the name of the new organisation is University Hospitals Bristol
and Weston NHS Foundation Trust - a real signal that this is the
start of something new. All our hospitals, including Weston General
Hospital and Bristol Royal Infirmary, will keep their
names.
3. We'll improve access to local services for our
patients
The merger means a better experience for our patients by
improving access to local services. We'll ensure people from North
Somerset and surrounding areas will be able to be seen and treated
in their local hospital, and improve access to specialist services
in both Bristol and Weston through better use of an expanded
workforce, estates and facilities.
4. We'll build on our partnerships with our academic
partners
The merger creates an opportunity to add to our strong
academic partners and develop stronger links with Weston College as
a leading provider of education in health for the region and
beyond. Weston General Hospital can be right at the heart of this
and become a rich training ground and pipeline for new healthcare
roles, and building a reputation for providing great training and
education.
5. We'll accelerate the roll out of digital
technology
The merger will enable us to accelerate the roll out of
digital technology to enhance and improve the quality and delivery
of services across the new organisation, further cementing our
Digital Exemplar status. This will not only support our staff to do
their jobs more efficiently, but bring real benefits to our
patients, who won't have to experience the frustration of repeating
the same information while being treated in our
hospitals.
6. We have the opportunity to share expertise and best
practice
The merger means we can share expertise and best practice
- particularly in the delivery of exemplar models of frailty,
ambulatory and out-of-hospital care. Through our combined
specialties, we can develop and learn from each other to create
truly joined up care which enables people to stay in their own
home, or return home as soon as they no longer need our
care.
7. We can expand our culture of Quality Improvement and
release untapped potential in our services
We will expand our Quality Improvement Faculty and Quality
Improvement Academy to create an organisation where innovative
thinking can truly flourish. Harnessing bright ideas and supporting
and developing our staff to make these a reality - enabling
positive change. We'll nurture innovation, and research and empower
our teams to design services and pathways at the forefront of care
particularly in medical and surgical ambulatory care.
Questions and feedback
If you have a question or any feedback about our upcoming
merger, you can send this to ubh-tr.uhbristolwestonpartnership@nhs.net
