NEGOTIATIONS between Wye Valley NHS Trust and its Private Finance Initiative partner Mercia Healthcare Limited have today reached agreement over “significant improvements” to the service arrangements at Hereford County Hospital.

The agreements come after months of ongoing negotiation between the trust, put into special measures last week, and Mercia to mark a watershed moment in often strained relations between the two half way through the troubled contract.

Agreements announced to today address the following areas of operation:

* Cooperation between all parties to develop and achieve the current and future high standards of health & safety in clinical environments which are being increasingly demanded, and to ensure that any issues can be resolved quickly.

* A more streamlined process for improving, changing or adding new facilities which will allow the Trust to respond quickly to changing medical practices in a fast-moving environment. This is critical for the next 15 years as the Trust ensures it has the right clinical capacity by modernising the older parts of the County Hospital site.

* Processes for improved on-going joint assurance of key environmental systems to support, and in conjunction with, clinical services, including the appointment of third party specialists, for example, for critical system ventilation.

Mercia chairman Alan Birch said that, as a result of these negotiations, Mercia  the trust had reached a “balanced understanding” on a range of issues.

“This will enable the Trust and its partners to provide a modern clinical environment, which is subject to continuous improvement with medical practice, while demonstrating value for money. Further options to develop the arrangements will be considered on a regular basis going forward,” he said.

Trust chief executive Richard Beeken said a “consistently safe and caring” environment for patients was only possible through a “proactive understanding” between both the Trust and its PFI partners.

“These new agreements between us both puts us in a good position. “We need to be able to respond both quickly when required, and in a timely and considered manner on other occasions. It’s up to both parties to make this contract perform for our patients to ensure we maintain a safe environment while ensuring we get value from every pound we spend,” he said.

The hospital is owned and managed through Mercia, which is a company 75% owned by Semperian, a London-based PFI firm, and 25% owned by French industrial giant Sodexo.