County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) have confirmed their commitment to work together through a new strategic alliance aimed at strengthening services for patients and communities that they serve across the heart of the North East.

Together, the two Trusts cover over 1,000 square miles in the centre of the region, with over 15,000 highly dedicated NHS staff serving a core population of over 1 million people.

The announcement comes as CDDFT continues to strengthen its leadership team and drive forward its improvement plans, with a clear focus on delivering safe, high-quality and sustainable services.

CDDFT has confirmed two substantive appointments to key clinical leadership roles:

  • Dr Eliot Sykes will join the Trust over the summer as Chief Medical Officer. Eliot is currently a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthetics at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and brings extensive experience in senior medical leadership roles, most recently as Associate Medical Director.
  • Gill Hunt, who has been serving as Interim Chief Nurse, has now been appointed to the role on a substantive basis, providing important continuity and stability in nursing leadership

Both appointments are important steps in strengthening clinical leadership capacity at a critical stage in the Trust’s improvement journey.

Alongside this, both Trusts have signed a formal collaboration agreement with a shared ambition to:

  • Make sure patients get safe, high-quality care, with good outcomes.
  • Support staff to innovate, improve and develop.
  • Make sure services are set up well to meet the future needs of local people.
  • Make the best use of NHS resources and work in more efficient ways.

The strategic alliance will support the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Plan, including delivering more care closer to home, increasing the focus on prevention and making greater use of digital tools to support patients.

Both Trusts will remain separate legal entities, each with their own statutory Boards, responsibilities and accountability. They will also continue to work closely with local partners across neighbourhoods and places, as they do now.

Steve Russell, Chief Executive of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This strategic alliance with STSFT is an important and positive step for both organisations. For CDDFT, it supports our continued improvement journey and our focus on delivering safe, high-quality care for the communities we serve now and into the future.

“At the same time, we are continuing to strengthen our own leadership team. We are delighted to confirm the appointments of Eliot and Gill, who both bring a wealth of experience and will play a vital role in strengthening clinical leadership, engagement and stability across the Trust.”

Ken Bremner MBE, Chief Executive of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have welcomed the positive and open discussions with CDDFT’s leadership team over recent months, and we recognise the significant opportunities for our organisations to work more closely together.

“Our focus through the strategic alliance will always be on where collaboration can deliver the greatest benefit for patients, families and staff, while ensuring both organisations remain rooted in the communities they serve.”

To support the development of the alliance, Lorraine Nelson, currently CDDFT’s Executive Director of Operations, will take up a secondment from mid-May to lead this next phase of collaboration as Alliance Director. Lorraine has worked across both organisations during her 30-year NHS career and brings significant experience and understanding of both Trusts and the communities they serve. STSFT’s Executive Director of Finance, Hayley Wardle, will now also support CDDFT as Chief Finance Officer at CDDFT alongside her role at STSFT. Hayley brings extensive senior leadership experience across both the public and private sectors, with a strong track record in strategic financial leadership, recovery and sustainable service transformation.

Ken and Steve said “We are delighted that Lorraine and Hayley will be leading the development of the alliance. They are highly respected leaders who understand both organisations extremely well and have made significant contributions to CDDFT and STSFT.”

Over the summer, the Trusts will work together to agree the immediate priorities for the strategic alliance and establish governance arrangements. Further updates will be shared as the work progresses.