Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the merger of Basildon, Broomfield and Southend Hospital Trusts into the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The merger of Basildon, Broomfield, and Southend Hospitals in 2020 set out to improve health outcomes for the local population and unlock the financial savings required to deliver a sustainable health economy across the mid and south Essex footprint.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is working with the system on a medium-term plan that will review the merger benefits thus far and consider further improvements that need to be made to ensure the Trust and wider system are clinically, operationally and financially sustainable. Benefits realised since the merger include efficient and effective use of hospital beds and appointments, financial savings, and improved staff retention rates.

The Department is aware that the foundation trust entered the Recovery Support Programme in April 2024. The trust is subject to mandated support including national oversight and assurance of financial improvement.