Frequently Asked Questions

Which organisations are involved?
  • Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust
  • The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
  • The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
  • Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Black Country ICB
  • Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
What are the central services in-scope of corporate services transformation programme?

Following the Joint Provider Committee held in February 2025, the following services are considered in-scope for this programme of work:

  • Communications
  • Digital, Data and Technology
  • Estates and facilities
  • Finance (excluding payroll and procurement)
  • HR
  • Performance and Information
  • Research and Development

Decisions to move any corporate function/service (or sub-function) out of scope can only be made by the Corporate Services Transformation Programme Board.

Why should we collaborate?

By transforming how we deliver corporate services, collaboratively, we will:

  • better support patient care
  • enhance professional development opportunities and offer a great place to work
  • remove duplication and associated costs to provide greatest value for the tax-payer

The Black Country Corporate Services Transformation Programme has three 3 over-arching aims/objectives, these being:

  1. Improve performance
  2. Deliver productivity improvements
  3. Ensure that our corporate services are resilient
What’s in it for patients?

Delivering the highest quality and performing corporate services, collaboratively, will:

  • Improve patient experience
  • Release more time to care, by reducing the administrative burden on clinical staff
  • Ultimately, support our clinical and operational teams to improve outcomes for our patients and populations.
What’s in it for our staff?

We have a unique opportunity to:

  • Standardise our policies, working practices and staff benefits so that our colleagues have the same high-quality employment experience wherever they work
  • Create new and exciting roles with wider opportunities for career development and succession planning
  • The opportunity for staff to work across our organisations and with larger corporate service teams, operating across our organisations
  • Create a consistent approach to education, training developing and talent management
  • Deploy, access and utilise technology and automation to improve productivity and efficiency, as well as make more interesting.
  • Enable our colleagues to work in different organisations more easily
  • Improve rotas
  • Improve our service which will benefit colleagues who use our services
How does corporate services collaboration fit with the wider transformation agenda?
  • The Corporate Services Transformation programme is one of the priority strategic transformation programmes for the Black Country system. This work is being actively supported and championed by all 4 Black Country provider Trust’s as well as the Integrated Care Board and Black Country Healthcare.
  • We are also transforming the way we deliver clinical services by joining up services across the system
  • We want all patients to have equal access to the same high-quality care no matter where they live in the Black Country
  • By improving our corporate services, we will support clinical service improvement too.
How quickly will this happen?
  • This programme of work launched in Summer 2024 and will engage a range of colleagues in the coming months to help co-develop the implementation and delivery plan.
  • Staff side/trade union engagement sessions will be held in parallel to attendance of staff side/trade union reps at the wider engagement workshops.
  • It is anticipated that the whole programme will be delivered over a 2-3-year period, but it will be important to focus on quick wins in key areas during the next 6-12 months. There are some immediate opportunities to improve the quality, resilience and efficiency of some of our corporate services for the benefit of our staff and patients. We are committed to delivering in-year benefits for 2025/26 where possible.
What will be developed?

There will be a range of developments and improvements flowing form this work, these will include:

  • Standardising systems, processes and policies, e.g. digital systems such as EPR; HR policies; financial reporting systems
  • Doing things ‘once’ and collaboratively where it makes sense.
  • Teams working ‘at scale’ on behalf of the other organisations in the system, e.g. this might include communications; finance and HR/People services.
When will the timeline of when things will happen be available?

A proposed programme plan will be produced following the conclusion of the engagement workshops, this plan will provide a clear timeline for the different phases of the work and will be subject to appropriate governance review and approval.

As well as functions collaborating, are there plans to bring corporate services more closely together also?
  • A Corporate Services Transformation Delivery Group was established during the early engagement phase to progress work to explore the different options that exist for delivering our corporate services in the future. Through a combination of engagement with corporate services colleagues, robust data analysis and transformational thinking with corporate leaders from across our system, emerging models and ideas for a future state were considered. Since confirming the in-scope corporate services, the Corporate Services Transformation Programme Board will now seek to determine the most effective models for collaborating and working more closely. There are a range of options to consider, with different benefits and possible risks to consider. Robust options appraisals will be completed, which will consider the right model for our different corporate services.
  • For example, there may be similar systems, processes and contracts across different functions: it’s likely that better understanding these similarities will be of benefit both to share learning and reduce duplication.
Who is overseeing this work and how are decisions made?
  • A Senior Responsible Officer has been appointed to provide leadership for this important programme of work. In April 2025, the Corporate Services Transformation Programme Board was established. This is chaired by DGFT Deputy Chair and is attended by the Chief Executives and their delegated representative from five trusts confirmed in-scope of the CSTP.
  • Leaders from all corporate services will be involved in a series of engagement programmes to agree the scope for corporate services transformation and deliver the changes.
  • All decisions supported by the Corporate Services Transformation Programme Board must be endorsed by the appropriate decision-making route (through the BCPC Executive and approved by the BCPC Joint Provider Committee for matters affecting the BCPC or through the appropriate internal routes for the ICB and or the BCHFT, as associate partners for this work).
Are staff side (trade unions) involved?
  • Staff side colleagues will be involved, with specific engagement sessions held in parallel to attendance of staff side/trade union reps at the wider engagement workshops. Ongoing partnership working will be important to the programme and the outcomes that are agreed and delivered.
Is my job at risk?
  • This is about working together to make sure we have the right people, working collaboratively (where this makes sense), doing the right things to deliver better services.
  • We have no plans for compulsory redundancies. We are keen to retain the talent that we have across our corporate services, to ensure the very best workforce delivering our corporate services for the future.
  • If we get this right, this work should provide better jobs, better career opportunities. This work will also help staff to deliver their jobs better and have a better work life balance.
Will my job change?
  • This is a key transformational change programme and with it, comes great opportunities to share skills, enhance career progression, create new roles and put in place new and supportive education and training
  • Staff will have the opportunity to discuss any changes to their role, at all stages of the programme and support and advice will be given from line managers, programme leads and staff side colleagues, as required
Will I have to reapply for my job?
  • We are likely to want to bring some of our corporate services together and to collaborate with the aim of maximising the skills of our staff, avoid duplication where we can, use the best digital solutions and transform the services we provide to our system colleagues
  • Following the NHSE announcements earlier this year, all NHS trusts have been asked to review their corporate services cost growth since 2019 and to submit plans to meet nationally set targets. This activity is running in parallel to the corporate services transformation programme.
  • Any changes will be discussed and explained to staff in advance, to avoid surprises. We want to work with our staff and teams to transform the way that we deliver corporate services, we do not intend to ‘do to’ people.
Is there a communications plan?
  • Yes, we have a communications plan which is being developed with input from the Corporate Services Transformation Programme Board, wider corporate services leaders and staff side (trade union) colleagues.
  • This includes regular communications through established trust communication channels, as well as future open communications sessions which are being arranged currently. All staff will have lots of regular opportunities to ask questions, seek clarifications and contribute to the thinking, scoping and design process.
How can I get involved?
  • There will be a range of opportunities to get involved and we really do want staff to engage in this important work. Our engagement plan includes the use of a digital engagement tool which will be available to all teams, as well as a range of face-to-face and written mechanisms
  • Please speak to your director about the plans for your function
  • You are best placed to know how we can make changes to improve the way we work to benefit our patients and each other – please get involved to help shape our future
  • If you have a question or would like to learn more about the programme, please email blackcountry.pc@nhs.net