About us
We provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and North Essex. We employ around 4,000 people who deliver these services within the community and in inpatient settings.
We were also in the top 5 MH & LD trusts to work in according to our staff survey, where an overwhelming majority of our people would recommend us as a place to work.
We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services and medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
We have operated as NHS Foundation Trust since our authorization in August 2007. This gives us opportunities to further build upon and improve the services for our community. Benefits include a stronger involvement withocal communities through our members and the Council of Governors and the ability to borrow finance to support our capital investment program.
Our work is driven by a very strong set of values. We provide services that make a positive difference in the lives of patients, service users, and their carers, underpinned by choice, independence, and equality.
We offer a high-quality service and are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Feedback from our staff about working for the Trust is very positive. In the 2021, national staff survey, nearly 90 percent of staff said their role makes a difference to our service users and over 70 percent would recommend the Trust as a place to work or receive care – well above the national average for similar organisations. We also recorded the best score nationally for motivation amongst all mental health and learning disability Trusts in England.
Our partnerships with other organisations are very important to the way in which we work. We play a full part in the local health and social care economies by promoting greater integration between mental and physical health and social care. These include:
- Working with local authorities and commissioners. We work closely with our commissioners in four integrated care systems. Our largest contracts are with the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System and Hertfordshire County Council to deliver integrated health and social care services for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities, and autism
- Being a lead partner in the Hertfordshire Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Health and Care Partnership, working with a range of partner organizations from the voluntary sector, local government, and the NHS to shape the future of services for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and autism across the County
- Being the lead provider for child and adolescent mental health services in the NHS East of England Provider Collaborative, helping to join up and integrate the commissioning of specialist services across the East of England region
- Being a University Trust, with close links to the University of Hertfordshire, providing excellent learning and development opportunities for staff, as well as strengthening clinical research
- Our regulators – NHS England and the Care Quality Commission