Public frequently asked questions (FAQs)

You should see very little change to your care – you will continue to see the same professionals in your community or your home. In time, we hope you will see other benefits though, such as even better-quality care, and more advanced technology. Depending on the care you receive, longer term you may also experience other benefits such as shorter waits or more support outside of appointments.

Working together in a group model will not in itself reduce waiting times. Similar services across our geography can have very different waiting times, often due to variations in local contracts. Coming together gives us an opportunity to learn from those across our services who have reduced waiting times while managing to continue a high-quality service.

Neither. We will be using the NHS “group model”. Both organisations, Cambridgeshire Community Trust (CCS) and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C), are coming into this as equals and will remain independent organisations. In time we will join together and create a new shared organisation, however at present we believe the group model is the right one for us.

The choice to work together has been made independently by the two Boards at CCS and NCH&C. As small organisations there was a possibility we may have been encouraged to merge with another trust in future. Doing so now means we’ve been able to make the very best match, choosing to work together due to the shared geography, service portfolio, and values of our two organisations.

Using our money in the right way is always important but whilst savings are a big potential benefit from this approach, the benefits to patient care have been at the heart of why we’ve pursued this. Ultimately, we believe this being part of a group is far better for patients, makes us more resilient, and can allow us to function at our very best.

The biggest benefit is scale. A bigger organisation can get better deals on its purchases, finds recruitment easier as its influence and reputation grow, can offer services more efficiently, and is more resilient. We would hope this change will also give a bigger voice to community services locally. We will also have more diversity, depth and breadth in our thoughts and decision making. We can learn more quickly, taking learning from more teams and finding approaches which can be applied elsewhere to drive improvement more quickly - ensuring quality is as high as it can be. With a growing number of people who will need care in their own homes and communities, in particular as our population ages, there is a need for community services to be more influential, more impactful and have a stronger voice in the system – these changes will help us to do that.

The intention is to have a single group Board appointed and in place by April 2025. Closer working between teams will take place gradually over the next few years, so you are unlikely to see any immediate changes. Any discussions on service changes will involve staff and service users to ensure your views are taken on board.

Your data will continue to be stored in a confidential and secure way. This data can only be accessed by our NHS staff with your permission and where there is a strong and important reason for doing so, for example to make sure you or your child receive the right care. Initially the Trusts will retain separate systems for the storing of your data, but the intention is to bring them together over time where appropriate. This will help clinicians access information from other services to help them offer the best possible care, but safeguarding your personal data will always be a primary concern for us.

There are lots of ways two organisations can collaborate. This can range from informal arrangements through to merger – with various options in between like committees in common, partnering agreements and joint ventures. The group model is one of those options. A group model can be applied in different ways, but usually involves a shared leadership team and joint decision making. As there’s no set way a group model has to work, so we can design our group in a way that works for us. We will be doing this collaboratively over the coming months. You may find the spectrum of collaboration by NHS Providers helpful in understanding our options.