Foundation Hospitals

Keep the NHS Working campaign

Since their introduction UNISON has remained opposed to the principles of Foundation Trust status. There are currently 70 Foundation Trusts and it is the government's intention that all trusts will move to Foundation Trust status by 2008. UNISON believes Foundation Trust status undermine the principles of the national health service.

Foundation trusts are:

• part of a market in which trusts compete against each other for patients
• unaccountable to the Secretary of State
• have greater powers than other trusts - for example to keep surpluses and borrow from the private sector.

UNISON believes foundation trusts will lead to increased inequalities between NHS services and the extension of charging.

We reject the government's argument that they are needed to increase local accountability and consider their governance arrangements to be flawed.