The Process and Impact of Trust Mergers in the National Health Service: A Financial Perspective

Mergers in the UK National Health Service have been justified by their perceived benefits. This article reports the findings from a study exploring the financial outcome of trust mergers. The authors found that financial deficits in constituent trusts, anticipated management cost savings and their reinvestment in services are important drivers for merger. However, savings achieved in the first two years following merger were below target and there was a lack of transparency in how savings had been reinvested. The merged trusts were able to partially address equity issues, a theme that emerged during the merger process. This article highlights important issues that need to be considered when planning mergers and reconfigurations.