What does the management at Staffordshire and Shropshire Trusts believe will be the benefits of a merger?
A large trust created by a merger of South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership Trust went live this week.
The biggest trust in the health service, it is called the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust.
Annual turnover will be more than £500m, and in addition to healthcare the trust will also provide adult social care services in Staffordshire.
Health Service Journal (HSJ) editors reported that Midlands Partnership chief executive Neil Carr said integrating physical and mental health as well as social care would enable the trust to deliver a more streamlined journey for patients and achieve better outcomes.