A new group looking after both Kettering and Northampton Hospitals has been formed.The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) NHS Group will come in to effect from Thursday.
The two Trusts remain separate organisations and will each continue to provide services such as maternity, children’s and A&E.The new group’s chief executive Simon Weldon said the move would “create a sustainable future” for both hospitals.
UHN has also achieved University Hospital status, which will see it partner both the University of Leicester and University of Northampton.Those behind the move hope it will drive greater equality of access to services for people living locally, improve patient care and enhance career and training opportunities for hospital staff.
The hope is that the group will lead to greater sharing of services between the hospitals and allow services currently operating outside of the county to be moved back in to Northamptonshire.
Mr Weldon said the new group signified a “very exciting new chapter for health and care provision in Northamptonshire, enabling us to create a sustainable future for both Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals”.