HOSPITAL services in Dartford and Medway will only be merged if the board bosses and regulators are sure it will help patients, said the NHS trusts following the publication of research which says mergers bring few benefits.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust has been discussing joining with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for the past year because senior doctors believe it will offer benefits, including a wider range of improved services.

Last week, researchers at the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) unveiled a study which suggested merging hospital trusts had few benefits.

The independent report examined over 200 acute NHS hospitals between 1997 and 2006, in which time around half were involved in merger.

The report said that hospitals often had a larger financial deficit after merging than before, waiting times for elective treatment rose and there were few indications of clinical improvements.

Admissions fell by 10 per cent, but so did staff levels, the research showed.

Report author Professor Carol Propper said: “Our findings suggest that policies to reduce the scope for competition may not be beneficial for patients or taxpayers.

“Mergers reduce the scope for competition between hospitals. And we know from other recent research that - just as in the private sector - regulated competition may be beneficial in the NHS.”

A spokesman for both the Medway and Dartford trusts said the two boards decided a merger would benefit both hospitals and patients in September, after considering a detailed study.

The spokesman said: “The integration will only proceed if the trusts and their regulators are confident that there will be real benefits for patients and the public and it results in a sustainable organisation”

Detailed plans are being drawn up now, the trusts said. The change could be in place by the autumn, but depends on the approval of bodies including the Department of Health and Monitor, which regulates NHS foundation trusts.

For more information on the integration and how to have your say, go to dvh.nhs.uk/about-us/integration.