Our nested collaboratives have continued to make progress at a more local level. These include work taking place between our two mental health and learning disability providers, local acute and community partnerships and collaboration with our ambulance service. These nested collaboratives allow us to respond to local needs while staying aligned with wider system goals.
Great North Healthcare Alliance
Newcastle Hospitals, Northumbria Healthcare, Gateshead Health and North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trusts continue to work together as the Great North Healthcare Alliance.
The Alliance helps Trusts share skills, staff and ideas. Over the past year, they have worked more closely to improve care. This is helping patients and GPs access care more easily.
- Two Community Diagnostics Centres (CDCs) means more patients in the north and west of the region are getting tests and scans sooner and closer to home:
- The Workington CDC opened in July. Over 30,000 tests and scans took place in the first year.
- The Metrocentre CDC has now done more than 75,000 tests and scans. It opened in October 2024 and plans to grow and help even more patients in future.
- Patients with heart attacks are getting the treatment they need faster. Those who need specialist care now get this within two days at The Freeman.
- Patients with hearing problems can now get their hearing aids fixed and get supplies closer to home.
Teams are working together to help solve problems. This helped services see and support more children over winter. It also meant support there was when radiology went down in one Trust.
The Trusts are working together when they need to recruit staff. Work is also helping to make pathways of care more consistent for patients.
The Alliance aims to keep building on progress so far. This will help make care easier to access, reduce waiting times, and help patients get better outcomes.
North East Central Alliance
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) have agreed to build a strategic alliance. This is known as the North East Central Alliance.
Together, the Trusts cover a large area in the heart of the region. They provide care and services for more than 1 million people. This is just under half of the entire North East population.
Both Trusts share the same goal. They want to work more closely together, learn from each other, and improve care for patients. They also want to support staff and make sure services are strong in the future.
More than 15,000 staff work across both Trusts. By working together, they aim to share skills, use resources well and improve services. The work will focus on where they can bring the most benefits for patients and staff.
There are already strong links between the two Trusts. They work together in specialist areas such as Dermatology, Head and Neck, Vascular, Renal and Urology. This new alliance will build on this work.
Both Trusts will stay as separate organisations, each with its own Board. They will still work with local partners. This means staying rooted in the communities they each serve to care for local people.
Over the next year, the Trusts will agree their main priorities and how they will work together. This will help make sure patients get safe, high-quality care now and in the future.
University Hospitals Tees
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust continue to work together as University Hospitals Tees (UHT).
Over the past year, they have made good progress to improve care for people across Teesside:
- The Friarage Surgical Centre opened in July. This surgical hub means more planned surgery is now taking place. It is helping to reduce waiting times for patients.
- More tests are also now taking place for people in Teesside. A new facility in Redcar is now supporting the CDC in Stockton. It means even more people will get scans and checks each year.
- Cancer care has got better too. New machines and robotic tools are helping to find and treat cancer more quickly. These tools are very accurate and can make treatment easier on patients.
Teams from both trusts are working together more. In bowel care there is now a joint service. This means patients see experts from across UHT and get the right treatment sooner. This is helping make patient care more joined up. Teams also work together to support people to manage their health at home.
In the future, UHT will keep bringing services and teams together. The goal is to work more as one team. This will help people get care sooner and have a better experience when they use UHT services.
Mental Health
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) work together to improve mental health care in the North East and North Cumbria.
The Trusts work together to help children and young people. They share ideas and good practice to improve care.
In May 2025, staff from TEWV's Autism Service joined eating disorder teams from across the region. Together, they set up the Co-occurring Needs Forum.
The forum meets each month. Staff from different teams take part. They share ideas and talk about young people who need extra help.
The forum supports autistic and neurodivergent young people aged 8 to 18. It helps staff think about changes that may help meet each person's needs.
This work helps staff learn from each other. It also helps make care more joined up across the region.
CNTW and TEWV will keep working together to improve care. Their goal is to help children, young people and families get the support they need.
