Imperial College Health Partners launched

Imperial College Health Partners, a company that aims to improve the health and care of the population of 1.9 million people living in North West London, is formed today.

The partnership, which is a limited company, brings together healthcare providers in North West London, including acute and specialist hospital, mental health and community care services, in partnership with Imperial College London to drive practical improvements to the quality of healthcare delivery. By coordinating the adoption of innovation, the partnership aims to bring benefits to the health of the local population and, through the dissemination of best practice, extend these more widely within the UK and beyond.

Collaborations to identify and share innovations that will make an impact on healthcare will draw on the nationally and internationally recognised expertise of individual partners in clinical service, research and education. The partners will work closely with the planned North West London Local Education and Training Board to embed new practices through the training and education of healthcare workers. With access to a population of 1.9 million people, the partnership presents opportunities to operate at a large and meaningful scale, including for clinical trials, and become involved in commercial ventures to broaden the reach of its activities.

Members of the Board of Imperial College Health Partners, who hold equal voting rights, are drawn from the senior executives of the following institutions:

• Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
• Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
• Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
• Imperial College London
• North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
• Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
• West London Mental Health NHS Trust
• West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

The foundation of Imperial College Health Partners follows the announcement in November 2011 of plans to establish an Academic Health Science Partnership.  Imperial College Health Partners complements the existing Academic Health Science Centre between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which focuses on the early translation of research into patient care. Both institutions have joined the partnership as separate members, each with its own vote.

The partnership is working towards designation as an Academic Health Science Network by the Department of Health later this year, and is seeking to build strong relationships with primary care providers, commissioners, local Health and Wellbeing Boards as well as other research organisations.

Professor the Lord Darzi, Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London and formerly Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health, developed the proposal to establish an AHSP and is appointed Chairman of Imperial College Health Partners. He said:

“I am honoured to be asked by the founding institutions to be the first Chairman of Imperial College Health Partners.  The rationale for establishing the partnership is strong. Each partner brings unique and distinctive capabilities to the wider collaboration, and through our inclusive partnership we can make an impact on a wider population. Bound together, every partner has a stake in raising the performance of one another and the approach unlocks new opportunities for research and teaching. Our shared mission is to ensure that as many patients as possible benefit from innovations in healthcare.”

Speaking on behalf of the partners, Professor Sir Christopher Edwards, Chairman of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted that Lord Darzi has agreed to be the first Chairman of Imperial College Health Partners. He is the ideal person, given his professional and academic background, political reputation and focus on improving the quality of patient care. His leadership will help the partnership to make a real, lasting difference to healthcare practice.”

Heather Lawrence, Chief Executive of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, says: “We are delighted to be founder members of Imperial College Health Partners. This new partnership is good news for the 1.9 million people who live in North West London and for NHS staff because together we can develop innovative solutions and translate research into practice to improve the quality of healthcare and health outcomes for patients.”

The process to appoint a Managing Director of Imperial College Health Partners is underway. Anyone interested in this opportunity should contact Mark Gammage (Director of HR, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust).