NHS Direct launches foundation trust consultation

NHS Direct has launched a 16-week public consultation on its plans for the future, prior to applying to become an NHS foundation trust.

Launching the public consultation, Matt Tee, NHS Direct chief executive said: “This is an exciting time for the organisation. Being part of the NHS has always mattered a great deal to NHS Direct. Foundation trust(FT) status will enable us to work more closely with the broader NHS to ensure that our services are better integrated with theirs so that patients receive a seamless service no matter where they start their ‘health journey.’

The organisation’s website states: “We believe the time is right to become an NHS foundation trust. It will help us to work more closely with our users and our partners in health and social care and better understand their needs, as well as involve staff in everything we do.”

As part of the planned move to FT status, NHS Direct is also looking to recruit a representative sample of the population to become members. The public can apply to become a ‘member’ of the NHS Direct Foundation Trust online.

The telephone and web-based healthcare advice service told E-Health Insider that it had received its first application to become a member within 30 minutes of opening the FT consultation on Monday.

Now in its seventh year of national operation, NHS Direct has over 28 million contacts a year. Tee said NHS Direct was a service “able to reach into the home, through the web, telephone, text or TV”.

The NHS Direct CEO said consultation on the proposed move to FT status presented the opportunity for a live and dynamic dialogue with members. “We intend to benefit from this dialogue to improve the services we offer, making them more effective for users and attractive to the broader public.”

Over the next three years NHS Direct plans to develop a number of new services – many of which will be developed in partnership with other NHS services or companies working in health.

NHS Direct says that as part of the consultation over the next four months, it will hold a series of events across the country for staff, stakeholders and the public to hear more about NHS Direct’s vision, strategy and future plans and will provide the opportunity for them to share their views.

A national stakeholder conference is planned in London on 21 February 2008. NHS Direct says it hopes as many people as possible will take part in the consultation process.

Membership of an NHS foundation trust is open to all English residents over the age of 16. With the exception of those on short-term contracts, all staff will automatically become a member unless they choose to opt out.

The proposed new NHS Direct Foundation Trust would have a council of 29 governors to represent the views of members, drawn from the public, staff and stakeholders, from across England.