Helen Thomson, current Chair of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, has been appointed to lead the board of a new NHS foundation trust being created through the merger of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
The two organisations are combining to form a single integrated provider, bringing together mental health, learning disability and community health services delivered across Leeds and the wider region. The trusts have confirmed they are working towards a target date of 1 April 2027 to formally launch the merged organisation, subject to final approval of a full business case.
Thomson brings a substantial background in NHS leadership to the role. She trained originally as a nurse and later as a midwife in Leeds, going on to teach midwifery in the city before moving into senior NHS management. She went on to hold posts including Director of Operations, Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, retiring from that post in 2014. She has since held a number of interim chief executive and non-executive director roles across trusts in West Yorkshire.
In addition to her NHS leadership roles, Thomson holds the title of Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, a ceremonial position representing the Crown at a local level, and has previously served as Vice Lord Lieutenant for the county.
The merger between Leeds Community Healthcare and Leeds and York Partnership has been described by the trusts as moving them towards full integration, with Leeds Community Healthcare set to be brought contractually into Leeds and York Partnership as part of the process. This arrangement is intended to create a new joint organisation while preserving the financial freedoms and regulatory status associated with foundation trust status.
Ahead of the merger, both organisations have been consulting staff, partners and the public on a name for the new integrated trust. NHS England has given approval for the two trusts to proceed with developing and submitting a full business case setting out detailed plans for the merger.
Leeds and York Partnership currently provides specialist mental health and learning disability services across Yorkshire, having become an NHS foundation trust in 2007. Leeds Community Healthcare, meanwhile, delivers a broad range of community based physical health services, serving a substantial local population.
Once complete, the merger is intended to remove organisational boundaries between mental health, learning disability and community physical health services in the region, with the stated aim of creating more streamlined care pathways for patients across Leeds and the surrounding area.
As chair of the incoming board, Thomson's responsibilities are expected to include overseeing the recruitment of non-executive directors for the new organisation, alongside working with existing executive leadership at both trusts as they prepare staff and operational systems for the transition. The scale of the combined organisation, bringing together the workforces of both trusts, positions the merger as one of the more significant NHS provider consolidations to take place in the region in recent years.
The final establishment of the new trust remains subject to the completion of formal governance approvals, with the 1 April 2027 target date dependent on this process being concluded successfully.
