About us

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust was formed in November 2014 following the integration of University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust and Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. We have two hospitals, Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital, and we are very proud of both.

We are a large, modern Trust in Staffordshire, providing services in state of the art facilities. We provide a full range of general hospital services for approximately 900,000 people locally in Staffordshire, South Cheshire and Shropshire. We employ around 11,000 members of staff and we provide specialised services for a population of 3m, including neighbouring counties and North Wales.

We are one of the largest hospitals in the West Midlands and have one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the country, with an average of nearly 15,000 patients attending each month across both of our sites. Many emergency patients are brought to us from a wide area by both helicopter and land ambulance because of our Major Trauma Centre status; as we are the specialist centre for the North Midlands and North Wales.

Happy staff members
Theatre preparation

As a University Hospital, we work very closely with our partners at Keele and Staffordshire University and we are particularly proud of our Medical School, which has an excellent reputation. We also have strong links with local schools and colleges. As a major teaching Trust, we hold a large portfolio of commercial research, which provides us with a source of income. Our research profile also enables us to attract and retain high quality staff.

Our specialised services include cancer diagnosis and treatment, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, renal and dialysis services, neonatal intensive care, paediatric intensive care, trauma, respiratory conditions, spinal surgery, upper gastro-intestinal surgery, complex orthopaedic surgery and laparoscopic surgery.

We have a range of formal and informal mechanisms in place to facilitate effective working with key partners across the local economy. These include participation in partnership boards which bring together health, social care, independent and voluntary sector organisations across Staffordshire.

We help drive improvements across the wider health and care economy, through our leadership roles on the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care Board

We look to involve our service users in everything we do, from providing feedback about the services we provide, to helping shape our priorities. This work is co-ordinated by our Patient Experience Team.

Our promotional video:

UHNM Charity

We have a vibrant charity arm, UHNM Charity, which provides funds to enable University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust to purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment and to enhance and improve patient experience and comfort. Many of our staff are passionate about the service they provide and want to be part of something special.

You can find out more about how our staff and patients are helping to improve the health, comfort and hospital experience of local people every day at www.uhnmcharity.org.uk.

Cheque presentation
Surgeon

Organisational Structure

The Trust Board is responsible for the Trust and holds monthly Board meetings held in public. Divisions reporting to the Executive team are:

  • Medical
  • Surgical
  • Network Services
  • Children's, Women’s Diagnostics
  • Estates, Facilities and PFI
  • Staffordshire and Cheshire Pathology Network
  • Central Functions

Each clinical division has a divisional board, which includes a Clinical Chair, Clinical Directors, Associate Chief Nurse and Associate Director, along with other representatives.

Our 2025 Vision

Our goal is to be a world-class centre of clinical and academic achievement, where staff work together to ensure patients receive the highest standards of care and the best people want to come to learn, work and research. We have created a vision document that sets out our vision for the future and our plans to become a successful, competitive partner in the healthcare economy.

2025 Vision has been set in the context of national and international trends in demography, technology and globalisation as well as being firmly rooted in the plans of the local health community in North and South Staffordshire.

It is closely aligned with the NHS health plans, which will move care closer to people's homes, increase patient choice and develop regional models for specialist services. Over the last year we have worked with our key stakeholders to ensure our vision for the future is fully supported by NHS partner organisations. To achieve 2025Vision we will be challenged to respond with care and insight to the emerging market for healthcare provision in the UK. At the same time, staying true to our values during a period of rapid reform will be critical to our success.

Achieving organisational and cultural change will also be necessary if we are to be a serious contributor to healthcare innovation globally. In order to invest in tomorrow we must increase our income and minimise our costs today and we will need leadership inside and outside the Trust that understands this imperative. We will also be reliant on the help of others and must be open to working in partnership with outside organisations as well as engaged in a constructive relationship with staff, patients and the public.

Our Values and Promises

At UHNM we have created a unique set of values and promises which were developed by staff, patients and carers. Our values are: Together, Compassion, Safe and Improving.

Our Values

Why do we need values?

97% of the UK’s greatest places to work have organisational values. They put their values at the heart of everything they do and they believe their success is due to their values

  • What makes UHNM unique? What is important at UHNM? Our own organisational values describe this.
  • When we welcome employees to the UHNM family we want people who also ‘live our values’. We can always train them in skills.
  • Our values and promises influence how the staff here at UHNM act; we will feel it and our patients will feel it.
  • We need to be recruiting people against our values and need to be holding people to account.
  • They inspire people into action. People take positive action because they aspire to live up to our values and feel safe and empowered to innovate as a result.
  • We are striving to achieve our Vision – how we do this successfully will be by living our values
  • Simply put, they shape our organisational culture, if we love them, then we will live them!

TogetherWe are a Team
I will be considerate, help others to achieve our goals and support others to make positive changes

We are Appreciative
I will acknowledge and thank people for their efforts and contributions

We are Inclusive
I will be open and honest, welcome people’s views and opinions and involve people in decisions that affect them

CompassionWe are Supportive
I will be empathetic and reassuring. I will support and encourage people when they need it

We are Respectful
I will treat people fairly, with respect and dignity, protect their privacy and help them to feel comfortable

We are Friendly
I will be welcoming and approachable. I will make eye contact, say hello and introduce myself

SafeWe Communicate Well
I will explain clearly, share relevant and timely information and keep people updated

We are Organised
I will plan ahead, manage my time well and be prompt in what I do

We Speak Up
I will contribute to ensuring healthy and constructive feedback for all so we can feel safe to challenge inappropriate care and behaviour and promote our values

ImprovingWe Listen
I will welcome people’s views and ideas, invite people to ask questions and share their opinions and respond to what I hear

We Learn
I will share best practice, celebrate good performance and support others to use their skills, learn and grow

We Take Responsibility
I will have a positive attitude, act and encourage people to take the initiative and make improvements

Our People Strategy

The People Strategy outlines how the Trust will lead and support its staff to achieve its vision and sets out the following five inter-related objectives:

AIM ONE:

Developing the organisation to deliver the Trust’s vision and values

AIM TWO:

Planning the workforce to support the recruitment of the right people, in the right numbers at the right time to deliver safe, high quality patient care

Aim Three:

Transforming HR to improve efficiency and governance

Aim Four:

Improving Learning and Education to continually enhance opportunities for staff to progress their careers and further develop their skills to be at the leading edge of healthcare provision

Aim Five:

Enhancing Staff Experience through improvements to Staff Wellbeing, Reward and Recognition

This People Strategy is supported by the Trust’s workforce plan, and is aligned to both the learning and education strategy and the organisational development strategy. It details the HR contribution, governance and monitoring arrangements and also outlines how HR will be measured and benchmarked to provide evidence and assurance of Human Resources’ contribution to the delivery of the People Strategy.