4 This summer, the trust boards of the RFL and North Mid approved the business case for the merger of our two organisations. This decision marks a significant milestone in our partnership, with 1 January 2025 the date when our trusts are expected to join together, subject to NHS England and Secretary of State approval. For seven years we have been collaborating to improve care across a range of specialties, and sharing resources to treat people more quickly and provide a better working environment for our staff. “We are proud of what we have achieved already,” says Mark Lam, chair of both trusts. “However, given the scale of the challenge that health and care services face, we believe that joining together as one will enable us to go further and faster in improving services and the health of local people without the barriers that still exist between us as separate organisations.” What will our merger mean for patients “We know that our patients want us to see beyond geographical boundaries between trusts so that we can streamline their care,” said chief medical officer of the RFL, Gillian Smith. “From speaking to some of our patient groups, we have heard that they are positive about the potential to reduce waiting times and achieve higher standards of care throughout their journey.” We have identified four initial services where we believe our merger can achieve greater benefits for patients and staff. One of these is oncology, where we aim to increase access to clinical trials, specialist advice and treatments to reduce health inequalities. Oncology services are a critical part of the cancer pathway, providing treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Oncology services In north central London the number of people with cancer is rising and is expected to increase 42% by 2030, with the RFL currently caring for the largest number of patients with suspected cancer in London. At North Mid, the picture Spotlight on the RFL and North Mid merger Patients will still be referred to their usual local hospital and our hospitals will continue to provide the same routine services for their local patients. However, by coming together as one, we expect to deliver more joined up services for patients, reduced waiting times and more support to keep people healthy. We will also be able to provide more specialist care locally so patients don’t have to travel and better integration with community services so people can receive care at home instead of on a hospital ward. Oncology is just one area where the merger is expected to bring benefits Patient benefits Reduced waiting times Improved access to specialist care locally Better joined-up community services More opportunities to take part in research More targeted screening and early intervention service
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