Trust in Imperial

The UK's first Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) was given the go ahead today by the Secretary of State for Health following an extensive public consultation.

The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and St Mary's Hospital NHS Trust will merge on 1 October and integrate with Imperial College London. The result, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, will form the foundation for the AHSC, and will be the largest NHS Trust in the UK.

Over three quarters of respondents to the consultation, which ran for three months earlier in the year, thought the merger was a good idea, with many believing that it would lead to better health services, better use of resources and the development of new and innovative solutions to modern medical challenges.

The independent Appointments Commission has appointed Lord Tugendhat the first Chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

He said: ‘The creation of the AHSC is a major advance for patient care, clinical teaching and scientific invention and innovation. The fusion of the different strands of our work and the achievements that we can now expect will lead to significant benefits for patients and greater advances in healthcare than those we could have delivered apart.