Controversial plans to merge Burton's NHS medical trust with its counterpart in Derby are set to finally go ahead by July 1 - should approval be given.

The delayed move, to combine Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was expected to be completed on April 1, but was put on ice when organisers were asked for more cash assurances.

Hospital chiefs, Gavin Boyle, who will be the chief executive of the trust once the plans go through, and current Burton chief executive Helen Scott-South, who will retire, vented their frustrations that the plans were being put on hold.

They previously told the Burton Mail that further information had been requested by London-based watchdog NHS Improvement, with plans to eventually go through by either June 1 or July 1.

No job loss will be felt at Queen's Hospital in Burton, according to chief executives
No job loss will be felt at Queen's Hospital in Burton, according to chief executives

It has now seems that it will be the later and the two health bodies could merge on Sunday, July 1 - subject to approval from NHS Improvement and the two trusts board and governors

On the Burton hospitals' official Twitter page, a statement reads: "We are working closely with our regulator NHS Improvement on our planned merger with Derby and are aiming for a new merger date of July 1, 2018."

The new trust will be called 'University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust', and will oversee Burton's Queen's Hospital, and the Royal Derby Hospital.

Also under the new trusts' umbrella will be three community hospitals, including the Samuel Johnson Community Hospital and the Sir Robert Peel Hospital, of Lichfield and Tamworth respectively, as well as the London Road Community Hospital in Derby.

Before the move could be confirmed, a patients benefits case was produced and presented to two regulators to assess, with approval needed from both for the move to go ahead.

The Royal Derby Hospital will share many resources will Burton
The Royal Derby Hospital will share many resources will Burton

The two regulators were NHS Improvement, the health body's regulator and the competition and markets authority (CMA).

In March, the CMA confirmed that their investigations found the merger would be 'compelling', beneficial and outweighed any concerns about competition between the two trusts.

The CMA concluded that despite some concerns that patients might have less choice for some services, potentially reducing the trusts' incentives to maintain or improve quality in these services, this was outweighed by the expected benefits overall.

NHS Improvement submitted their own reply to the case of their independent view on the move.

This was considered by the provider regulatory committee of NHS Improvement, a senior group which looks at major plans including mergers and acquisitions.

They do not offer an approval, but instead award the move a risk assessment rating, which the councils of governors of both trusts took into consideration in advance of a final decision.

Gavin Boyle will become the chief executive of the proposed combined trust between Burton and Derby
Gavin Boyle will become the chief executive of the proposed combined trust between Burton and Derby

Mr Boyle, who has been in charge of the Derby trust since March 2016, previously explained NHS Improvement viewed the merger as 'the right thing to do', and that both trusts must now work with them until the merger launch date to provide further information on the move.

Since the feedback from NHS Improvement, senior figures from the body have worked with organisers of the merger to go through what is expected.

The Burton and Derby hospital trusts merger so far

Planning documents for the proposed merger were submitted at the end of 2017.

Earlier, in June 2017, it was announced at a Healthwatch meeting that the outline business case for the partnership of the organisations, with a recommendation to merge, was approved.

Fears have been raised by many, particularly in Burton, that the hospital could lose services, including the accident and emergency department, but officials have insisted that this is not the case.

The Burton Mail, as well as the town’s MP Andrew Griffiths, joined the fight to keep it open.

At the Healthwatch meeting it was confirmed by bosses from both respective trusts, Helen Scott-South from Burton and Gavin Boyle from Derby, that the A&E department would not close.

A new trust will be formed, under a new combined title, 'University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust'.

The chairman will be John Rivers, the current chairman of both Derby and Burton trusts, and chief executive of Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Gavin Boyle, will take up the same role at the new trust.

Hospital bosses have previously revealed that Burton's Queen's Hospital could save almost £10 million next year if the merger goes ahead.

In March, 2018, the Competition and Markets Authority gave the move a green light, after ruling that benefits of the merger outweighed potential competition concerns.