It has come at the end of a very long and drawn-out process.

Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust has finally become Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, but Trust bosses insist this is the start of a journey for them, rather than the end.

Although it may be some time before patients visiting the hospital notice any physical change, the people at the top are hard at work.

Chief executive Peter Murphy said the idea behind foundation status, in Colchester at least, is to "improve the patients' experience" so that those who use the Trust's hospitals in Colchester, Clacton and Halstead recommend them to friends and relatives.

"We think rebranding the organisation gives us a chance to promote the locality," he said, "but our first priority is always the population in north Essex."

He said the Trust's foundation status meant it was now paid money by the NHS for each patient it treated, based on a tariff system.

By attracting more people to the hospital, it will boost its income and, added Mr Murphy, its "potential surplus".

"We will always strive for excellence in clinical terms, but we also want people to have a good experience," he said.

In the short term patients using the hospital will not notice a difference, but in the long term the changes will be clear.

Later this month the Trust will announce its five-year plan.

"It's a slow build-up but I would like to think that during the first year people will notice more difference than just labelling and signage," said Mr Murphy.

Foundation status will give the Trust more autonomy because it will no longer have to ask permission from the NHS on how to spend its money.

Instead, any surplus at the end of the year will be reinvested in its own services. Government targets will still exist, such as the 18-week wait from seeing a GP to being treated in hospital, but Trust chairman Richard Bourne pointed out internal targets were likely to be tougher.

Mr Murphy said foundation status may be a government policy, but it actually removes the Trust from the control and regulation of the Department of Health.

Instead, the Trust's progress will be checked by Monitor, the independent health body which gave permission for Essex Rivers to have foundation status.

"We have demonstrated to Monitor's satisfaction that we are a sustainable and well-governed organisation," said Mr Murphy. "The main difference now is that we have more engagement with our local population through our members' council."

Monitor will be keeping a close eye on the new foundation Trust. If it suddenly plunges into the red or isn't delivering on its promises, the health body will get tough.

HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED

When Essex Rivers decided to go for foundation status, it asked people in north Essex to become members of the foundation Trust and influence healthcare.

Already 2,696 people have become members, as well as the Trust's 3,300 staff, and 23 have been elected to the members' council.

Its first meeting will take place on Monday at Colchester Institute.

Trust chairman Richard Bourne, who will also chair the council, said it will not have a say in the day-to-day running of the hospital.

"What members will do is look at long-term plans and make suggestions," he said.

Colchester MP Bob Russell said he is concerned that "so few people" are involved as members.

"The population served by the Trust is in excess of 300,000," he pointed out. "What we should be having is not a self-appointed membership but rather an organisation, democratically accountable to all its residents."

A Trust spokesman said there had been "extensive consultation" last year over foundation status, including membership.

  • Anyone wishing to become a member of the Trust can call 0800 783 7328 during office hours, apply online, or send a letter free to: Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, FREEPOST ANG 2707, Chief Executive, Colchester General Hospital, Colchester C04 5BR.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust wants to push forward four priorities in its five-year-plan:

  • Improving emergency care and services for the elderly - the aging population in the Trust's catchment area makes this very important
  • Patient dignity - some of the Trust's investment will go into eliminating mixed-sex bays on wards and improving facilities such as bathrooms and washrooms
  • Cancer services - as well as providing for the people of north Essex, the Trust also wants to attract patients from outside the area. There are plans to move cancer services from Essex County Hospital to the Turner Road site
  • Become a centre of excellence for keyhole surgery.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

The main differences between a foundation Trust and a healthcare NHS Trust are:

  • Autonomy on future healthcare plans. At the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust's first board meeting later this month, the board will announce its healthcare plan for the next five years
  • The Trust will now be able to keep any surplus cash - in 2007/8 that was £3 million - and reinvest it in services
  • Via the Trust's newly-elected members' council, public and staff can have a much bigger say in the future of healthcare in north Essex.