New Northern Care Alliance launches in Manchester

The new Northern Care Alliance NHS Group has launched in the North West as a group of hospitals and community health services collaborate to serve a population of over one million people.

Creating one of the largest NHS healthcare organisations in Greater Manchester and the North West, the alliance draws together five local hospitals, 2,000 beds, specialist and acute services, community services and more than 17,000 staff from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

With an operating budget of £1.3 billion budget, the new alliance provides the benefits of scale but delivers this locally through multiple hospital sites and local healthcare services.

Salford Royal is one of the top performing NHS Foundation Trusts in the country, receiving an ‘outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission in 2015 and becoming the first in the North of England to do so.

Sir David Dalton, who has been chief executive of both trusts since taking charge of Pennine Acute Trust in April last year, will lead the alliance.

Dalton said: “These new local arrangements for our care organisations for Oldham, Bury and Rochdale, Salford and North Manchester place the emphasis for operational management of health services where it matters – in each hospital and locality. They strengthen senior leadership support at hospital-level, enabling better engagement with staff and clinical teams. Compared with the previous, more remote trust HQ they are closer to the ‘shop floor’, understanding the challenges and issues staff are facing. These teams will build strong relationships with each of our local health and social care partners.”