equivalent Foundation Trust

equivalent Foundation Trust

Any of the three Foundation Trusts which provide high-security psychiatric services in the UK (Nottinghamshire Healthcare, West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Mersey Care). Whilst eFTs meet the Department of Health’s definition for a Foundation Trust, they differ in that they have a direct line of communication with, and are accountable to, the Secretary of State, because such facilities provide healthcare to patients who have been detained (“sectioned”) under the Mental Health Act, and have been judged to pose a grave and immediate danger to the public.