Minister approves ambulance service foundation trust application
West Midlands Ambulance Service is a step nearer becoming a Foundation Trust following approval by the Secretary of State to proceed to the final stage of its application.
The independent Foundation Trust regulator, Monitor will now carry out an in-depth scrutiny of the Trust's strategies and assess its ability to operate successfully. If accredited to become an NHS Foundation Trust, WMAS will still be part of the NHS and subject to the same inspection regime for quality and standards.
The move will strengthen the Trust's accountability to the local community of the West Midlands rather than central government. The decision by the Secretary of State means that the Trust can now set in motion an election process for representatives of the public and staff to sit on the Members’ Council as Governors.
A Notice of Election will be published on Friday 13th July, in readiness for a postal ballot to take place between 4th September and 27th September. Over 8,000 local people who have so far signed up to become Foundation Trust members, together with 4,000 staff, will be eligible to participate to elect twenty Governors to the WMAS Members’ Council.
After a region wide consultation, the Trust originally began its NHS Foundation Trust journey almost two years ago. To become eligible for NHS Foundation Trust status, WMAS has been required to consistently maintain its high performance standards and financial accountability.
Trust Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum, said: "We are immensely proud to announce that the Secretary of State for Health has supported our application for NHS Foundation Trust status which allows us to progress our application and hold elections to our Members’ Council.
"The Trust still has an important stage to go through to secure the final approval of the independent regulator, Monitor, and if we pass that successfully that's when we can celebrate our status as a Foundation Trust."
He added: "The election process will proceed right away, given the timetable requirements, so that we can be ready with our elected representatives in place to establish the Members’ Council. Our elected Governors will remain in shadow form until we become a fully-fledged NHS Foundation Trust later in the year."
