THE boss of Colchester and Ipswich hospitals says radical thinking is the only way both will continue to survive.

Hospital trust leaders have announced three possible scenarios in a bid to save services, including completely merging the trusts and care or merging but only integrating some services.

It is also possible one trust could “acquire” the other.

Bosses’ preferred option will be put forward in July before it is implemented in April 2018.

The proposed changes could save the trusts up to £33 million-a-year by 2021.

Nick Hulme, chief executive of both the Colchester and Ipswich trusts, said: “We have to think radically because there is no money left.

“There will be modest growth in our funding to come but not anywhere near the amount that we’re going to need.

Gazette: Trailblazer - Colchester Hospital had considered the scheme

“There isn’t the money or the staff that we need so we do need to be radical both within the systems and between the systems.

“Even if both organisations were rated good, we would still be having these conversations.”

His comments comes after a document on the proposals warned the workforce in both trusts, the workforce “will be unsustainable and care to patients under threat unless the model of service is changed”.

Mr Hulme also said whichever of the three options is chosen will help recruit staff to both trusts, but especially Colchester where “the brand has become poor”.

At the moment the Colchester trust is down 24 consultant posts while 15 per cent of junior doctor posts are vacant.

Agency nurses are also being used to fill 28 per cent of the total nursing posts.

The trust’s overall vacancy rate is 13.8 per cent.

Mr Hulme said: “We have got significant vacancies for clinical staff in both trusts and that is probably the case up and down the country.

“The sooner we have got certainty around the changes in clinical services, probably the better, so we can be much clearer in what our staffing plans are going forward, especially around our traditionally hard-to-fill posts.

“My ambition would be, because we would have responsibility for 700,000 rather than just over 300,000 each, it will open up opportunities for more specialist work and more research work, which I believe will attract people.

“It is difficult to attract people to Colchester to an organisation which is in special measures and has been for over three years and the brand is poor - in some cases rightly so.

“But we believe this could being an exciting new future for Colchester and it will be positive for recruitment and if there are opportunities to move staff around then we will look at it.”

Mr Hulme said if a particular service is being delivered on one site with an acceptable staffing level and at an acceptable level but there are issues with the service on another site, it would make sense to potentially move staff around.

Services such as accident and emergency and maternity will be provided on both because “there is clearly a demand for both”.

The chief executive also admitted, as well as improving patient care, the proposals have been put forward in a bid to save both trusts money.

The consultation document also warns if no action is taken the cost of running the Colchester trust will rocket to £372 million, from £313 million this year - an increase of almost 20 per cent.

If that level of spend was to continue until 2020/21, the Colchester trust would be running a £76 million deficit.

This year, figures suggest the deficit is £42 million.

Both trusts must also plan to make space for a total of 100 extra beds by 2020/21.

Mr Hulme added: “Of course there is a financial element to it but at its root, this is about how we can improve care to patients by using different organisation models.

“I can understand people when you’re talking about changing health systems there is some anxiety but I can promise any changes which are made will be simply to improve patient care.”

A “long-term partnership”

between the trusts was announced in April, soon after Chief Inspector of Hospitals in England, Prof Sir Mike Richards wrote to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warning it would be the “only way of securing services for patients long into the future”.

Now Mr Hulme has now admitted it took “some time” for bosses at both trusts to understand exactly how the ‘partnership’ could work.

Indeed the Colchester trust initially denied a merge was on the cards.

The chief executive added: “We needed to take some time to understand what exactly that would mean. We think we are there now.”

'Merger is takeover in disguise'

FORMER MP Sir Bob Russell has warned the merger between Colchester and Ipswich hospitals is in fact a “takeover”.

Sir Bob also said move has been “in the offing for a long time”.

In response to the proposals, Colchester’s High Steward said: “This is a takeover, pure and simply.

“It is very good for the career path of Nick Hulme, that’s for sure.

“This was always going to be outcome and I said that before.

“I took the denials with a pinch of salt but this hasn’t suddenly happened, this has been long in the offing.

“When I was MP, the Health Secretary had been to the hospital for a visit and he was very complementary of the leadership then.

“Since then, we have had two leadership changes and now we have a merge - what has changed Mr Hunt?

“I am surprised that people did not see it coming, clearly they are taking the people of Colchester for mugs.”

In an interview with the Gazette after Mr Hunt’s meeting, the Health Secretary said: “There is a terrific new leadership in place and they are doing everything they possibly can to turn the hospital around and get out of special measures.

“I am encouraged by the work being done by the leadership here in Colchester.”

But Sir Bob has rubbished the Health Secretary’s comments, adding: “Mr Hunt needs to explain himself and so does the Care Quality Commission, which presumably would have briefed Mr Hunt ahead of his visit.”

In July, Sir Bob wrote in the Gazette letters page after the announcement ofr a “partnership between the hospitals, saying: “Perhaps what we are witnessing is the political engineering of a takeover of Colchester Hospital by Ipswich Hospital.”

Colchester MP Will Quince has backed the plans, saying : “What we have come to realise is Colchester Hospital on its own is not sustainable.”