Page updated: 25 May 2010
The NHS in Trafford announces appointment of new chair for proposed integrated care organisation
NHS Trafford (the Primary Care Trust) and Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust today announced the appointment of a new chair to oversee the proposed establishment of an integrated care organisation for the borough.
Experienced businessman and Altrincham resident Alan Foster has been appointed to the post, seconded from his current role as a non-executive director with NHS North West.
Alan joined NHS North West in July 2006. He retired in 2004 after spending almost 40 years in major organisations including IBM and Alcan Aluminium, following his degree at Oxford University and MBA at the Cranfield School of Management. He most recently spent 15 years as managing director of MEL Chemicals, an international chemical company based in Manchester.
Alan’s role will be to work closely with the leadership teams from NHS Trafford and Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust to refine and implement the legal, constitutional and operational arrangements for the creation of an integrated care organisation.
NHS Trafford will continue to commission all healthcare services for the local population. This step is part of a wider move towards an integrated care system in Trafford which aims to bring community healthcare professionals, hospital clinicians and GPs closer together for the benefit of patients. The integrated care organisation will be at the heart of delivering this new system and forging links with colleagues in social care services.
Speaking about the appointment Alan Foster said: “A new approach in Trafford will result in better joining-up of services between hospitals, community healthcare professionals and general practice. This is a groundbreaking project that offers a flagship model for how the NHS will develop over the coming years.
“We inevitably face challenges given the current financial climate but this should be seen as an opportunity to be creative, rather than a cause for restrictions and I look forward to working with both the primary care and hospital trusts in delivering ambitious changes to healthcare services in the borough.”
Coming from a business background, Alan is particularly interested in how the NHS continues to raise the quality of its services and design them with the patient as a customer in mind.
Chair of NHS Trafford, Terry Atherton added: “We know there is a huge opportunity to make the system more efficient by enabling parts of it to work more closely together to create a modern, more effective healthcare service for the Trafford population.
“It is important that we continue to recognise the unique and interconnected roles of the professionals working within primary, secondary and community care in a way that enables them to work to their strengths, alongside our colleagues in local authority.”
Fay Selvan chair of Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust said: “We’re committed to playing our part in integrated care as the major local hospital provider. That’s why we’ve been working closely with the primary care trust to help develop the proposals for integrated ways of working for some time.
“We recognise that by thinking differently about how and where care is provided without being distracted by the organisational boundaries that presently exist, there are significant benefits in terms of helping local people live longer, better quality lives.”