NHS foundation trusts are semi-autonomous organisational units within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local strategic health authority). As of March 2014 there were 147 NHS Foundation Trusts

Inspiration

Alan Milburn's trip in 2001 to the Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón in Spain is thought to have been influential in developing ideas around foundation status. The hospital was built by the Spanish National Health System, but its operational management is contracted out to a private company, and exempt from many of the rules normally imposed on state-owned hospitals, and in particular, the hospital was allowed to negotiate its own contracts with workers. The governance of the hospital includes local government, trade unions, health workers and community groups.

History

Foundation trusts were announced by Health Secretary Alan Milburn in 2002. The first 10 NHS hospitals to become foundation trusts were announced in 2004.Gordon Brown prevented plans by Alan Milburn that they should be financially autonomous in 2002. By the end of 2012, the Monitor website listed 144 Foundation Trusts.