11 February 2021

We are delighted to announce that Royal Brompton and Harefield has officially joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease.

The merger of the two NHS Foundation Trusts was approved by the Boards and Councils of Governors of both organisations in December 2020. It came into effect on 1 February 2021, seeing the creation of a newly expanded Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, with Royal Brompton and Harefield forming a new Clinical Group within the Trust. Three Non-Executive Directors from Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust have also been appointed to serve on the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Board of Directors.

Since 2017, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trusts have been working together, and with colleagues across King’s Health Partners, to develop plans to transform care for adults and children with heart and lung disease. This merger is a key step towards achieving these ambitions.

To begin with, the merger will mean clinicians and teams working more closely together, building on the partnership work over the last three years, but generally providing services to the same patients and in the same places as they do now.

Subject to the necessary public consultation, children’s services will move from the Royal Brompton Hospital site to an expanded Evelina London Children’s Hospital at St Thomas’ in around five to six years’ time. Subsequently, and again subject to consultation, a new centre is hoped to be built for heart and lung services at St Thomas’, which will be the home to adult heart and lung services from across the new Trust and potentially other partners as well. There are no plans to move services from Harefield Hospital, but these services will be an integral part of the integration across the new Trust.

Baroness Sally Morgan, Simon Friend, and Javed Khan have been appointed as the three Non-Executive Directors from Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust to serve on the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Board of Directors.

Prof Ian Abbs, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said:

I am proud to welcome colleagues from Royal Brompton and Harefield to the Guy’s and St Thomas’ family. Together, and with our partners, we have a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients from before birth to old age, and conducting world-leading research.
We have already demonstrated that by working together we can achieve more for our patients, not least during our current pandemic response, where partnership working has helped us care for many patients requiring the most specialist treatment.
I am looking forward to taking the next step on our exciting, shared journey, both with our new colleagues and our clinical and academic partners.

Dr Richard Grocott-Mason, Managing Director of the new Royal Brompton and Harefield Clinical Group at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said:

This is a hugely significant moment in the history of Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals. From our earliest discussions with Guy’s and St Thomas’ we realised we had the chance to create something new and dynamic with colleagues who shared our values and appetite for innovation and transformation – vital for a specialist Trust with a strong reputation for breaking new ground in heart and lung disease treatment and research.
Healthcare will undergo radical transformation over the next ten years and hospitals and healthcare providers will need to respond. Joining Guy’s and St Thomas’ gives us the best chance of leading and shaping the transformation of heart and lung care and research on a national and international stage.

Prof Richard Trembath, Executive Director, King’s Health Partners, said:

Our partnership has a deep and widely celebrated history in pioneering research and training, supporting health care to improve patients outcomes. I am enormously pleased and proud to welcome Royal Brompton and Harefield into King’s Health Partners. Our new colleagues are unrivalled in their commitment to improve heart and lung care for adults and children; together we look forward to creating a world-leading services, driving opportunities for staff and students and that transforms the lives of patients.

Jill Lockett, Managing Director, King’s Health Partners, said:

What an exciting moment for our partnership.  This merger combines our clinical and academic strengths to harness our internationally competitive position for improving patient outcomes in heart and lung disease. The contribution of Royal Brompton & Harefield to our CAG and Institutes agenda will be significant and underpin the delivery of our new 5 year plan Delivering Better Health for all through High Impact Innovation.

Talking about welcoming the new three Non-Executive Directors, Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said:

We are delighted to welcome these new Non-Executive Directors to our Trust and that Baroness Sally Morgan has agreed to serve as Deputy Chair. They will each bring a fantastic range of expertise, as well as invaluable continuity that will strengthen and enhance the skills of our existing Board and Trust as we embark upon this exciting new chapter in the history of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Royal Brompton and Harefield.
The opportunities that the coming together of our two organisations bring are immense, with significant benefits for our patients, staff and the communities we serve, both now and in the future.