A rigorous and comprehensive consultation process has taken place which has included meetings with every acute hospital, including consultations on two separate occasions with each hospital in the South East region. A significant volume of formal submissions have been received by the Project Team from hospitals, clinicians, regulatory bodies and citizens.
All of these recommendations and submissions have been considered by a Strategic Board composed of representatives with national and international expertise in health service delivery, governance and linkages with academic institutions. The Chair of the Strategic Board, Professor John Higgins is due to formally present to me a report on the establishment of hospital groups as a transition to independent hospital trusts in the near future. I will prioritise consideration of that report, which will then be submitted to and presented to Government for decision on the hospital groups composition in light of the recommendations of the Report.