About us
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust runs acute services from two hospitals in Somerset, community services, community hospitals, mental health and learning disability services and a quarter of Somerset’s GP practices via its subsidiary Symphony Healthcare Services.
It runs services from two acute hospitals – Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Yeovil Hospital in Yeovil – services in the community and services from the 13 community hospitals in the county, a range of mental health and learning disability services and our subsidiary, Symphony Healthcare Services, runs a quarter of GP practices in the county.
Our trust is the result of two mergers. The first merger in April 2020, between Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, brought together acute services, community service and mental health and learning disability services. The second merger brought together acute services from both acute hospitals in the county and a large proportion of the county’s GP practices.
We believe that the broad range of services that we offer within one organisation put us in a better position to provide mental and physical health services for our population, helping people to enjoy healthier lives with improved equitable access to the specialist care and treatment they need, when they need it.
We are an integral part of the Somerset Integrated Care Board and work with NHS, social care and voluntary sector partners in Somerset to plan and deliver services. We care for patients predominantly from Somerset but also from North Somerset, the west of Dorset and north of Devon.
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Our aims in Somerset are to:
- Improve the health and wellbeing of our population. Enable people to live socially connected healthy, independent lives, promote early intervention and prevent avoidable illness.
- Provide the best care and support to children and adults. Ensure safe, sustainable, effective, high quality, person-centred support in the most appropriate setting.
- Strengthen care and support in local communities. Develop and enhance support in local neighbourhood areas and bring care closer to home.
Reduce inequalities. Value all people alike, target our resources and attention where it is most needed, giving equal priority to physical and mental health. - Respond well to complex needs. Improve outcomes for children and adults with complex needs through personalised, co-ordinated support.
Our clinical strategy, which was developed in consultation with colleagues, patients and system partners, sets out how as a trust we will play our part in delivering these five aims.
In addition to providing a wide range of patient services, we also contribute to training the next generation of nurses, doctors and therapists and conduct research that will help to advance clinical practice and treatments in the future.
Within our trust we are privileged to work with over 13,000 colleagues who deliver or support our patient services. From therapists to nurses, doctors, researchers, scientists, porters, cleaners, kitchen staff, accountants, those who teach and the receptionists who welcome our patients, the contribution of all of our colleagues is invaluable.
As a foundation trust we benefit from the support of and dedication of our volunteers, our Council of Governors, our Leagues of Friends, charities and partners – and we thank them for their contribution
Our mission, vision and values
Our mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone in Somerset and to deliver outstanding integrated care by supporting our colleagues and nurturing an inclusive culture of kindness, respect and teamwork.
Our vision is – thriving colleagues, integrated care, healthier people.
Our vision is supported by shared values that were developed by our colleagues across our range of services. They are kindness, respect and teamwork. We strive to use them in our work every day, to develop a compassionate, inclusive and learning culture and put our values at the heart of our service planning, recruitment and the operational running of services for patients.
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Our trust’s strategic objectives support the achievement of the aims we share with health and social care partners in Somerset. They are to:
- Improve the health and wellbeing of the population
- Provide the best care and support to people
- Strengthen care and support in local communities
- Reduce inequalities
- Respond well to complex needs
- Support our colleagues to deliver the best care and support through a compassionate, inclusive and learning culture
- Live within our means and use our resources wisely
- Develop a high performing organisation delivering the vision of our trust.
We measure our progress to deliver these strategic objectives through our board assurance framework which is reported to our Trust Board.
