Partnership
The South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre was established by the Partners in 2004 as a strategic business unit with a remit to deliver high quality elective orthopaedic services to patients in South West London and Surrey. The contractual joint venture (JV), known as the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC), is hosted by Epsom and St Helier University Hospital (the “JV Host”) on behalf of the Partners. The Partners, including St George’s University Hospital, Kingston Hospital, Croydon University Hospital and Epsom and St Helier University Hospital, share control of the Joint Venture equally.
The Partners agree that the underlying philosophy for the Joint Venture is to enable the ongoing provision of high-quality Elective Orthopaedic Services to Service Users in the JV Area, to encourage partnership working for the good of the health economy and to harvest the benefits of shared knowledge, skills and efficiency.
Each Partner agrees that it has a joint responsibility to ensure the Joint Venture succeeds. The Partners acknowledge and agree that they will each work co-operatively and collaboratively in the best interests of the Joint Venture regarding all services provided as part of the Joint Venture in a way that will not disadvantage the other Partners.
The objectives of the Joint Venture are:
- to enable the Partners to work together to deliver high quality, cost effective and patient focused Elective Orthopaedic Services and to deliver improved health care in the health economy;
- to enable the Partners to ensure equality of access to elective orthopaedic care across the JV Area;
- that in providing the Elective Orthopaedic Services the Joint Venture aims to guarantee a safe and effective service for each Partner to meet the full requirements of each Partner for elective orthopaedic care;
- that the provision of Elective Orthopaedic Services by the Joint Venture must not modify or distort the Partners’ established clinical services and existing relationships;
- that the Elective Orthopaedic Services must be focused on the needs of its referrers and must not change existing patient pathways without clear and explicit agreement from the relevant Partner;
- to enable the Partners to work together to explore further business opportunities outside the core JV Area; and
- to enable the Partners to work together to preserve and enhance the Joint Venture’s reputation.
The Partners acknowledge and agree that the Joint Venture will serve the needs of the Partners in relation to the Elective Orthopaedic Services first and foremost, but that the Joint Venture also represents an opportunity for growth of the business of the Joint Venture for and on behalf of the Partners.
The Partners agree that:
- the JV Staff will be employed by the JV Host (on behalf of the Joint Venture);
- the Trust Clinical Staff shall be made available to the JV Host by the Partners and the Partners shall be reimbursed for the provision of the Trust Clinical Staff;
- the assets of the Joint Venture will be owned, leased and/or licenced (as applicable) by the JV Host (on behalf of the Joint Venture).
The Partners acknowledge and agree that the Partnership Board shall be responsible (by delegation from the Partners) for the strategic oversight and management of the Joint Venture. In addition, they agree that the Management Committee (being a sub-committee of the Partnership Board) will have operational oversight of the Joint Venture in accordance with the Management Committee’s Terms of Reference as may be amended from time to time.
JV Host
The JV Host is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Joint Venture within the bounds of the Partnership Board’s directions and the JV Host’s constitutional documents, standing orders, standing financial instructions and schemes of delegation governing the JV Host.
Partnership Board
The Partnership Board provides strategic direction to the Joint Venture. The Partnership Board is comprised of executive-level representatives of each Partner (who have delegated responsibility to make decisions on behalf of their respective boards), an independent non-executive Chair, the Accountable Director, the Medical Director and the Nursing Director.
Management Committee
The Management Committee is a sub-committee of the Partnership Board, and its duties include making decisions in relation to the operations of the Joint Venture and the management of capacity and scheduling. The Management Committee is accordingly responsible for agreeing the Activity Plans with the Partners.
The Management Committee is comprised of the Partner Representatives, the Accountable Director, and the Joint Venture operational team.
Policies applicable to the Joint Venture
The Joint Venture complies with certain policies and arrangements of the JV Host the JV Host’s policies and arrangements for clinical governance. The Partners agree that the Joint Venture may also have in place its own policies and arrangements that are applicable to the Joint Venture.
Business Plan
An annual business plan will be prepared for the Joint Venture by the Management Committee and approved by the Partnership Board.
Property
The Partners agree that the Elective Orthopaedic Services shall be provided from the JV Premises and the JV Host shall ensure that the JV Premises are suitable and available at all times for the provision of the Elective Orthopaedic Services.
The JV Host (on behalf of the Joint Venture) may also from time to time enter other premises arrangements in respect of Outreach Clinics from which the JV Host (on behalf of the Joint Venture) carries out Service User pre-assessments pursuant to the Commissioning Contacts and following which such Service Users are referred to the Joint Venture for the provision of the Elective Orthopaedic Services.
Assets
The assets of the Joint Venture are owned, leased and licensed by the JV Host (on behalf of the Joint Venture).