University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay

What University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay does

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) is a publicly-funded acute and community healthcare provider operating across the Morecambe Bay catchment in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, England. The trust runs six main hospital sites — including the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Furness General Hospital, and Westmorland General Hospital — alongside integrated community healthcare services, serving a dispersed rural and coastal population. It employs between 5,001 and 10,000 staff under the NHS employment framework and operates as a statutory public benefit corporation (Foundation Trust) established in 1998, with the underlying NHS organisation dating to 1948.

The trust's core product is the delivery of secondary acute care, emergency services, maternity, planned surgery, diagnostics, and community-based clinical services. Its technology stack is anchored on the Sectra One Cloud Enterprise Imaging platform (deployed under a £27.5 million multi-trust contract in December 2025) for radiology and clinical imaging, supplemented by NHS-standard systems including the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), Attend Anywhere for virtual consultations, and adoption of the NHS Federated Data Platform for data sharing. Clinical service lines are CQC-regulated, with recent 'good' ratings in maternity reflecting quality improvement.

UHMBT's business model is NHS commissioning: revenue flows from NHS England Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board contracts, specialised commissioning, and tariff-based payments for clinical activity. There is no commercial pricing model; access is universal under NHS entitlement. Cost discipline is pursued through shared services consortia (OneLSC), capital procurement partnerships, and operational efficiency programmes such as the £300,000 energy efficiency scheme. Strategic positioning centres on regional service resilience, workforce development via the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine partnership, and digital consolidation through multi-trust cloud imaging.

Name

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay

Legal name

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

Website

https://uhmb.nhs.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust is a publicly-funded NHS acute and community healthcare provider operating six hospital sites across South Cumbria and North Lancashire, serving the regional Morecambe Bay population through NHS-commissioned services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Acute Hospital Services

NAICS

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (6221)

SIC

Services-Hospitals (8060), Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, Nec (8062)

akta.pro primary industry

Community & Regional General Hospitals (HLAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Safety-Net & Public Hospitals (HLAFAAAD), School-Based & Community Women’s/Children’s Health Clinics (HLAFAJAO)

Keywords

• Acute hospital services
• NHS foundation trust
• Community healthcare services
• Maternity and neonatal care
• Respiratory rehabilitation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kendal

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. NHS Commissioning: Publicly funded healthcare services commissioned by NHS England and Integrated Care Boards. Services are funded through UK taxation and National Insurance contributions. UHMBT operates as an NHS Foundation Trust receiving payment for delivering commissioned healthcare services to the population of Morecambe Bay.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust operates six main hospital sites and a network of community services across the Morecambe Bay region, delivering acute hospital care, emergency and urgent care, elective treatment, maternity and neonatal services, community respiratory care (Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Advanced Respiratory Care at Home, Respiratory Rehab@Home), outpatient appointments, and digital health services such as virtual consultations (Attend Anywhere), eLetters, and Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU). Services are commissioned by NHS England and the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and provided free at point of use, with supplementary charitable support from the Bay Hospitals Charity.

Product overview

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust providing acute hospital services and community healthcare across 15 hospitals and community settings in the Morecambe Bay region. The Trust operates as a single integrated healthcare system with six main hospital sites (Furness General Hospital, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Westmorland General Hospital, Millom Hospital, Queen Victoria Hospital, and Ulverston Community Health Centre), supplemented by community-based services. Key service lines include emergency and urgent care, maternity services (recently rated Good by CQC), and the Community Respiratory Team which provides Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Advanced Respiratory Care at Home (ARCH), and Respiratory Rehab@Home programmes. The Trust also offers digital health services including Virtual Appointments via Attend Anywhere, eLetters for outpatient correspondence, and Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU). The Care Partners Programme enables family involvement in inpatient care, while Bay Hospitals Charity supports enhanced patient care through charitable donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Furness General Hospital Acute hospital providing emergency care, maternity services, and a range of clinical specialties to patients in the Barrow-in-Furness area.
• Royal Lancaster Infirmary Acute hospital providing emergency and elective services, including maternity care, to patients in the Lancaster and Morecambe Bay region.
• Westmorland General Hospital District general hospital serving the Kendal and South Lakeland area, providing a range of outpatient and inpatient services. It is also the location of Trust Headquarters.
• Millom Hospital Community hospital providing local services to residents of Millom and the surrounding area.
• Queen Victoria Hospital Community hospital providing local health services to patients in the Morecambe Bay area.
• Ulverston Community Health Centre Community health facility providing outpatient and community-based services to residents of Ulverston and surrounding areas.
• Community Respiratory Team Specialist team delivering clinic-based, community-based, and home-based respiratory services for chronic lung diseases including COPD, bronchiectasis, ILD, and asthma, including Pulmonary Rehabilitation programmes and Advanced Respiratory Care at Home (ARCH) service.
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service Six-week exercise and education course delivered twice weekly across multiple sites in Morecambe Bay to help people with chronic lung disease manage breathlessness and improve quality of life.
• Advanced Respiratory Care at Home (ARCH) Hospital-style respiratory treatments delivered at home by specialist professionals for patients with severe respiratory needs, including those on home ventilation or approaching end of life.
• Respiratory Rehab@Home Home-delivered pulmonary rehabilitation courses for patients unable to attend group sessions due to illness severity or those requiring post-hospital COPD recovery support.
• Care Partners Programme Programme allowing hospital patients to designate family members or friends as Care Partners to provide support with daily activities, decision-making, and discharge planning during inpatient stays.
• Virtual Appointments Video consultation service enabling outpatient appointments to take place remotely via the Attend Anywhere platform, allowing specialists from multiple trusts to see patients without travel.
• eLetters Electronic correspondence system enabling outpatients to receive appointment letters digitally rather than by post.
• Patient Initiated Follow-Up (PIFU) Pathway allowing patients to contact the hospital to arrange follow-up appointments only when they feel they need one, rather than having appointments automatically scheduled.
• Maternity Services Comprehensive maternity and neonatal services including midwife-led and obstetric-led care, bereavement support, and specialist neonatal care. Recently rated 'Good' by CQC with £2m investment in bereavement suite and triage unit at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
• Bay Hospitals Charity Official NHS charity supporting University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, raising funds to enhance patient care, equipment, and facilities beyond what the NHS provides.

Quantifiable outcome

• Community wellness team cut hospital bed days by 66% for high-need patients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SectracoreTechnology or Integration · 9 December 2025Sectra will provide UHMBT and three other NHS trusts with its Sectra One Cloud enterprise imaging solution. The contract is valued at GBP 27.5 million, enhancing cybersecurity, streamlining IT management, and improving clinical collaboration across 15 hospitals. Three of the four trusts are already using Sectra solutions.
• Morecambe Bay Respiratory NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative network of respiratory healthcare providers across Morecambe Bay, led by Dr Pat Haslam, working to expand community respiratory services and Pulmonary Rehabilitation programmes to underserved rural communities.
• Pears Cumbria School of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between UHMBT and PCSM to strengthen the connection between graduate-entry medicine education and frontline clinical practice. Dr Caroline Brock serves as Head of Clinical Assessments at PCSM while maintaining clinical responsibilities at UHMBT.
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four NHS trusts collaborating on Sectra One Cloud enterprise imaging solution to enhance clinical collaboration across the region.
• East Lancashire Hospitals NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four NHS trusts collaborating on Sectra One Cloud enterprise imaging solution. Also part of OneLSC shared service for Digital and Information, Estates and Facilities, Finance, HR, and Procurement.
• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four NHS trusts collaborating on Sectra One Cloud enterprise imaging solution and Attend Anywhere video consultations.
• Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, collaborating on shared services including OneLSC and video consultation services.
• NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioning organization for health services in the region. UHMBT receives funding and works collaboratively on system-wide initiatives including community wellness programmes.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Cheshire-based NHS Foundation Trust operating two acute hospitals and integrated community services. Comparable in scale and rural-adjacent catchment, with similar district-general-plus-community service configuration.
• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Also a four-trust Sectra cloud imaging partner with UHMBT and an Attend Anywhere collaborator. Provides comparable acute, maternity and outpatient services across Lancashire and is co-anchor of the Lancashire & South Cumbria ICS.
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Co-collaborator with UHMBT on the multi-trust Sectra One Cloud enterprise imaging contract and member of the Lancashire & South Cumbria ICS. Operates comparable acute and community hospital services across a similar Lancashire/Cumbria footprint.
• Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust: Partner trust within the same Lancashire & South Cumbria Integrated Care System as UHMBT. Provides mental health, community, and some acute services — sharing virtual-appointment platforms and integrated care pathways with UHMBT.
• East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust: Partner with UHMBT on the shared Sectra imaging contract and a OneLSC shared-service partner. Operates acute hospital and community services with overlapping population health responsibilities in the Lancashire & South Cumbria system.
• North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust: Neighbouring NHS Foundation Trust operating acute and community hospitals across north and west Cumbria, directly adjacent to UHMBT's Morecambe Bay geography. Faces identical rural-access, workforce and ICB-integration operating conditions.
• Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust: District general hospital NHS Foundation Trust serving a mixed urban-rural population. Operates a comparable acute-plus-community service mix and is similarly structured around a single tertiary referral network.

Broad incumbents

• Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust: NHS Foundation Trust delivering acute and selected community services from a regional hospital catchment in the South West. Useful size and structure comparable to UHMBT for benchmarking operational KPIs and digital programmes.
• Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: Established NHS Foundation Trust running multiple acute hospitals and a broad community footprint in the North East of England. Comparable multi-site acute-and-community model with mature digital and integrated care programmes.
• Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust: Multi-site NHS Foundation Trust combining acute hospital care with community services across Surrey/Berkshire/Hampshire. Comparable integrated operating model at slightly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UHMBT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UHMBT
• Facebookfacebook.com/UHMBT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uhmbt
• Instagraminstagram.com/morecambebayhospitals

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay