About Us
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) provides good quality, safe and effective acute and community care to the population of north Lancashire, south Cumbria and beyond. Employing more than 6,300 FTE colleagues, with 700 hospital and 73 community beds, we provide a range of services to a diverse population of approximately 370,000. We operate Furness General Hospital in Barrow, Royal Lancaster Infirmary in Lancaster, Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal, Millom hospital in Millom, health centres in Ulverston and Morecambe and a large number of community facilities across our footprint. Our range of services cover the full spectrum of general services including Urgent and Emergency Care, Medical Specialties, Community Services, General Surgery, Maternity, Outpatients, Therapies and Children’s & Young People.
The Trust is also a founding member of Bay Health and Care Partners (BHCP), established in 2014, to improve health and care services across Morecambe Bay through its clinical model, Better Care Together. As the Place-based model continues to evolve both regionally and nationally, so does the partnership with diverse and active partners drawn from across health, social care and voluntary services within the Morecambe Bay footprint.
Our Health System
At a regional level we are part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS). This is known as Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria is a partnership of organisations working together to improve services and help the 1.7 million people in Lancashire and South Cumbria live longer, healthier lives. The Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB covers a region made up of five place-based partnerships (Central Lancashire, West Lancashire, Pennine Lancashire, Fylde Coast, and Morecambe Bay) with a vision for Lancashire and South Cumbria’s communities to be healthy with local people having the best start in life, so they can live and age well.
At the heart of this are the following ambitions:
- to have healthy communities;
- to have high quality and efficient services; and
- to have a health and care service that works for everyone, including our staff.
Our Future
The Trust’s ambition is to be a great place to be cared for; a great place to work. It is clear that this has not always been the case for our patients and colleagues which has led to UHMB receiving mandated support from NHSEI’s Recovery Support Team as part of the Strategic Oversight Framework arrangements.
Our Recovery Support Programme (RSP) has been established to create lasting improvements in our approach to quality and safety, to provide clinical and financial sustainability, and to embed these within an organisational culture and leadership model focused on patients-first. Our RSP will be underpinned by a credible and compelling clinically-led Clinical Service Strategy and a revised operating model, both of which our Chief People Officer will be integral to developing and implementing.
We have been given the opportunity for a once-in-a-generation investment in a new hospital through the Government’s New Hospitals programme. For the leadership of UHMB, this is a rare chance to shape the future of our clinical services for the benefit of our patients and communities, ensuring they are underpinned by first class clinically-led facilities, best-in- class quality, safety and governance processes, and delivered by an outstanding professional workforce who embody the values and just culture we are developing. Our programme involves close collaboration with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, developing a joint solution that benefits not just our local communities, but all those in Lancashire & South Cumbria.
We remain committed to developing the place-based partnership working across Bay Health & Care Partners and the wider system of Lancashire and South Cumbria. We see the power of collaboration and whilst the New Hospitals Programme is something for our future, we will use the collaboration and development of clinical relationships across the ICB to power our ambition to improve and collaborate further to develop a sustainable future for L&SC.