About Us

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is the first NHS trust on the English mainland to provide community, mental health and acute hospital services. We work with health and social care partners in Somerset to ensure that we deliver outstanding services that meet the needs of our population. The trust was formed on 1 April 2020 when Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust merged. We provide community and mental health services across the whole of Somerset and acute hospital services in the north, west and centre of the county and beyond. Somerset Partnership and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust established a close working relationship when we formed an alliance in May 2017. In late 2017, we established a joint executive team that oversaw all aspects of both trusts’ operations and worked to a single set of strategic objectives covering hospital, community and mental health services. With services working more closely together than ever before, we made improvements to the care our patients receive. However it became clear that we needed to merge in order to remove the barriers that add unnecessary delay and cost to the care we provide, and to truly integrate community, mental health and hospital services. The impetus for our merger came from colleagues who saw the improvements that we can make if community, mental health and hospital services work together differently. Our clinical strategy is built from the ground up, based on the experience of our colleagues and services, and our knowledge of the growing needs of our population. We are privileged to work with over 9,000 colleagues who deliver or support our patient services. From therapists to nurses, doctors, researchers, scientists, porters, cleaners, kitchen staff, accountants, those who teach the next generation of clinicians and the receptionists who welcome our patients, the contribution of all of our colleagues is invaluable. Working together we provide services from the cradle to the grave including: Services delivered in your own home such as Somerset’s Rapid Response service that cares for patients to support them during a period of crisis and avoided over 1,000 patient going to hospital in its first year Primary care from three GP practices A range of services from 13 community hospital including outpatient and diagnostic services, 190 inpatient beds and seven Minor Injuries Units. A range of specialist mental health services Specialist healthcare for adults with learning disabilities Community dental health services Regional, specialist and hospital services from Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton including medical and surgical care, maternity services and cancer treatment services. The Trust’s general services are commissioned by the local clinical commissioning groups while specialist services are nationally commissioned. In addition to providing a wide range of patient services, we also contribute to training the next generation of nurses, doctors and therapists and conduct research that will help to advance clinical practice and treatments in the future. As a foundation trust we benefit from the support of and dedication of our volunteers, our Council of Governors, our Leagues of Friends, charities and partners – and we thank them for their contribution