03 June 2005
South Yorkshire has become the first foundation trust health economy after its fourth acute trust won foundation status this week.
Monitor, the foundation regulator, approved the Rotherham General Hospitals Trust's application on June 1. All four adult acute hospitals in the strategic health authority area are now foundations.
Although some unions will be unhappy that Monitor continues to authorise foundation trusts before the Healthcare Commission reports on their impact, the regulator said the Rotherham trust's application was deferred in March 2004 but that it had now sufficiently developed its strategy to satisfy the regulator's scrutiny process. A further six applications for foundation status have been deferred.
South Yorkshire SHA chief executive Alan Wittrick said that foundation status would bring many benefits to local people, including a greater say in the running of the hospital and extra financial freedoms.
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