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Following several years of close working, North Mid and its community services became part of the Royal Free London group on 1 January 2025, alongside Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, and the Royal Free Hospital.
The merger aims to cut waiting times, bring leading-edge specialist care closer to home, and better connect hospital and community services.
Patients will also have greater access to the latest medical research and local people will get more help to spot, prevent, and address health problems earlier, with services better designed to meet local needs.
Patients will still be referred to their usual local hospital or community service, which will continue to provide the same routine services for their populations. At North Mid, these include A&E, maternity, intensive care, paediatrics, acute surgery, acute medicine and community services.
Find out more about our newly expanded group by watching the video below:
RFL group chair Mark Lam, who was also chair of North Mid until the merger, said: "This is a truly momentous day for the RFL and North Mid, as we bring together the best of the NHS to deliver fantastic healthcare.
"With the merger, we will have the opportunity to transform healthcare for a generation in north London — reshaping major patient pathways and radically improving access for all the communities we serve.
"Together we are stronger, and will have a wealth of talent and resources to drive improvements and enhance the patient experience."
Peter Landstrom, RFL group chief executive, said: "This marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Royal Free London and the culmination of years of close working.
"While there will be no significant changes for our patients — or the majority of our staff — from day one, it will enable us to go further and faster in improving services, delivering more opportunities for staff and enabling better, fairer health for our local communities."
Dr Nnenna Osuji, chief executive of North Mid, said: "I am grateful to everybody who has contributed to us reaching this significant milestone, in particular the teams across both organisations who have worked together so effectively.
"I look forward to North Mid continuing to deliver outstanding care for local people, anchored in the heart of the communities we serve. We're building a future that delivers better care for our patients and populations and exciting opportunities for our dedicated staff."
Clinicians across the expanded Royal Free London group have identified four priority services where working closely together will bring the greatest benefits. These are:
Oncology
As one of the biggest cancer providers in the NHS, the RFL will further establish itself as a leading centre for the treatment of this devastating disease.
By 2040, one person will be diagnosed with cancer every minute, and by working as one team across all sites we can ensure that every patient's care is consistently excellent.
We will focus our resources where they are most needed, to reduce waiting times and provide access to the most advanced and effective cancer care close to home.
Colorectal surgery
We will drive innovation in bowel cancer treatment by using the latest robotic technology, delivering round-the-clock specialist care close to home, and a real focus on early screening.
Research and development
The merger means that more patients will be able to access research trials and new treatments, no matter where they live — overcoming legal and regulatory barriers that have previously limited collaboration.
This will provide North Mid patients with greater access to potentially life-changing innovative treatment and ensure a wider range of patients for RFL research.
Surgical hubs
Building on the success of existing surgical hubs for orthopaedics and ophthalmology, including at Chase Farm Hospital, the group will create a network of centres of surgical excellence.
These hubs will enable patients to access common procedures more quickly while receiving consistently excellent care.
