Are the Open Forums and other discussions consultation meetings?
We are holding a range of forums and workshops, and attending meetings with people when invited, to share what is happening, to answer questions as best we can, and to gather as many views as possible. This is about talking to and involving as many people as we can as early as possible, and not ‘formal consultation’ at this stage. The intention is that people feel fully informed, and the discussions support the early stages of the project with questions, ideas and information. There will be a 3 month consultation when we have better information about the challenges and advantages of becoming either a Foundation Trust or a Community Interest Company, probably starting in the autumn. All NHS Trusts have to adopt a different organisational form, or have plans to do so, by 2008. NHS Trusts which are planning to become Foundation Trusts are not obliged to hold full public consultation about whether or not this happens, (but they do consult about the detail around how the Foundation Trust sh
