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We carefully looked at all the issues, some of which this article covers, got expert advice and said no to becoming a SE because the numbers do not stack up. All involved in the national drive to encourage SE were made aware and so far our decision has been proved right. However, the concept of a co-operative, public membership and staff owned provider model for health care provision remains attractive as it chimes with NHS values, is acceptable to the public and would be highly motivating for staff. The FT model, although not really presented as such, is to all intents and purposes the same thing within the NHS framework except for staff owning the organisation. If FTs could be owned by their staff then we would have something brilliant.