Locations
A consortium led by Fieldfisher with Fieldfisher Consulting has been appointed by the Cabinet Office with the Department of Health to provide legal and consultancy services in support of their "Mutuals in Health" Pathfinder Programme to explore the opportunities and potential benefits of introducing mutual structures into the National Health Service. The targeted Pathfinder Trust selected for this appointment is the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, a mental health and learning disability trust for Norfolk and Suffolk. Other members participating in the Fieldfisher consortium are OPM (an independent research organisation and consultancy) and Prospects (a consultancy with extensive experience of mutuals in the public sector).
Neil Palmer, lead Fieldfisher Partner on the bid, commented: "Winning this appointment from the Cabinet Office among a large and highly competitive field of bidders reinforces our reputation as one of the leading advisers on mutualisation in the UK. It is also a huge accolade to our growing healthcare practice. We look forward to working with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust to deliver even better healthcare on the ground by exploring all the opportunities and potential benefits of mutualisation for its healthcare services in Norfolk and Suffolk."
Hamish Sandison, Chair of Fieldfisher Consulting, added: "It's very exciting to see that the Cabinet Office has recognised the benefits of appointing an integrated team of lawyers and consultants who can work together from Day One in a more joined up way to deliver a multi-disciplinary professional service to their clients. This appointment strongly endorses the thinking which led us to set up Fieldfisher Consulting in the first place – the idea that, by working together to provide a multi-disciplinary service, Fieldfisher and Fieldfisher Consulting can better meet the multi-disciplinary needs of our clients. I am confident that, where the Cabinet Office leads in demanding a more seamless service from its professional advisers, other clients will follow, and we will witness a sea-change in the whole approach to procuring professional services in this country."