Hospital shake-up on hold

A question mark has been hanging over the long term future of the Headington hospital as an independent hospital since the spring, when patients and staff were left reeling by news that a timetable to wind up the specialist hospital as an NHS trust had been drawn up.

South Central Strategic Health Authority announced it would be inviting other NHS trusts and private health companies to bid for services provided at the world famous hospital.

But with the NOC anxious to join Oxford’s other major hospitals and Oxford University in creating a new Academic Health Science Centre, the search for an organisation to take over the NOC has been called off.

A bid will soon be submitted to the Government that could bring the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, Banbury’s Horton, the NOC and the university together as early as next year.

Oxfordshire’s primary care trust and the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust could also be included in the bid.

Health chiefs say the new centre holds the promise of improvements in the quality of treatment, and extra investment in health facilities.

NOC chief executive Jan Fowler said: “There is a strong commitment from local NHS trusts and the University of Oxford for the establishment of an Academic Health Science Centre.

“We believe this option has the potential to support the continued development of our specialist services.

“It will bring greater integration between scientific research and the development of new high quality treatments for the benefit of our patients. The NOC has a long tradition of working closely with the university.”

Sue Woollacott, of the patients’ group NOC Network, said: “This is good news. It was not sensible to spend money on management consultants looking at mergers, while work on an academic science centre was going on.”

She said the academic centre idea offered the best way to secure the future of the NOC’s specialist services.

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