Trusts hire ‘big four’ consultants to advise on joint working

South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust and neighbouring South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust commissioned Deloitte after being encouraged to do so in a letter sent by London regional director Sir David Sloman.

However, the trusts insist the work is not a precursor to merger, and say the two organisations will continue to be separate legal entities.

SLaM is a widely-known research and training centre in the mental health field, with close ties to King’s College London and the Institute of Psychiatry. It provides some specialist national services.

Former SWLSTG chief executive David Bradley this month became chief executive of South London and Maudsley. The news of his appointment was announced in April but a permanent replacement has not been sought for the top job at SWLSTG.

The two trusts already share an HR director and an estates director, and work closely in a number of areas along with the other south London mental health trust, Oxleas FT, in the South London Partnership. It shares budgets and accountability for some service lines.

The news comes after the announcement of a similar arrangement withtwo north London mental health trusts and Monday’s announcement of a joint chief executive post across the acute and mental health trusts in outer north east London.

Sir David’s letter to the south London trusts and the terms of reference for Deloitte’s work have not been disclosed.

The review is due to report in the next two months.

In a joint statement, the trusts said: “We are exploring whether there are additional opportunities for increased joint working which could deliver clear benefits to our patients, carers, service users, staff and local communities.”