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Ten new trusts given foundation powers
Ten more NHS trusts have been awarded foundation status by the government's independent regulator.
William Moyes announced the doubling of the number of flagship hospitals on Thursday.
The high-performing trusts will now have significant freedoms from Whitehall control and will be able to borrow money privately from banks for investment under controversial legislation introduced last year.
The second wave of foundation hospitals is dominated by large university teaching hospitals in big cities, which ministers hope will become centres of excellence for care and staff training.
Moyes said "this group includes some of our largest and most prestigious hospitals and represents a significant expansion of foundation trust status".
"There are now 20 NHS foundation trusts, representing around 15 per cent by turnover of the acute trust hospitals in England, operating with autonomy, delivering national health priorities but with greater accountability to local needs," he added.
However the scheme only applies in England as health policy is devolved in Scotland and, to a more limited extent, in Wales, where the Labour administrations have opted out of the initiative.
Critics fear that the policy will create a two-tier NHS with better funded foundation trusts attracting the best staff.
Moyes also announced that two further bids, from Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust and King's College Hospital NHS Trust, have been deferred, while an application from Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust in Oxford has been refused.
The regulator performs a thorough check of a trust's finances before granting full foundation powers.
The first wave of 10 successful trusts were given the go-ahead in April.
Reaction
For the Conservatives, Andrew Lansley said the government was "missing a golden opportunity" with the announcement.
"They are only offering foundation status to a few hospitals and they have watered down their freedoms almost to the point that they are meaningless," said the shadow health secretary.
"Hospitals need real freedoms to be able to respond to patients’ needs otherwise healthcare standards will not rise.
"Even after today’s announcement, only 20 of the 289 NHS trusts have been awarded foundation status.
"As a result, the great majority of doctors, nurses, and patients will not even enjoy the limited benefits of the government’s foundation hospitals."
But the NHS Confederation welcomed the second wave, saying they would improve patient care.
"Foundation trusts have already begun to take advantage of the new freedoms that foundation status offers, responding more swiftly to local need," said chief executive Gill Morgan.
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