As you may be aware, our Trust has been receiving intensive support as part of the Recovery Support Programme (RSP). Its aim was to support our teams to make the improvements to governance, quality and safety that would mean safer and more effective services for our local communities.
In June 2023, the System Improvement Board (SIB) - made up of colleagues from NHS England (NHSE), Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), local authority, Care Quality Commission, General Medical Council and Health Education England - unanimously recognised the improvements in governance, quality and safety that have been achieved because of the hard work of our colleagues.
At the same time, NHSE reduced the oversight arrangements that they had in place with the Trust and asked us to work with our ICB directly in managing our onward improvement locally.
Since then, the relevant NHSE national teams have reviewed our progress and approved our exit from the Recovery Support Programme and transition from NHS system oversight framework (SOF) segment 4 into SOF3. In SOF3, we will continue to receive support from external colleagues, but this will be done at a system level with our ICB rather than at a national and regional level.
This is another positive step forward and it is important that we acknowledge all our colleagues for their continued support and hard work to improving our services. We still have a lot to do to reach our ambition of SOF2 or higher and it’s important that we don’t slow down now. If we carry on with the drive and dedication that we have seen over the last two years, our services will continue to improve and allow us to offer the best possible care to our patients.
We’d like to thank our colleagues, patients, stakeholders, and local communities for their ongoing support.
Prof. Mike Thomas, Chair
Aaron Cummins, Chief Executive