Health leaders are set to make a decision next week on proposals to invest £500 million in Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust services by creating a new state-of-the-art hospital and improving existing buildings.
The Improving Healthcare Together Committees in Common will meet online on Friday 3 July 2020 to decide whether to locate the new specialist emergency care hospital on the Epsom, St Helier or Sutton hospital sites after considering feedback from a consultation which ran from 8 January to 1 April this year alongside all the other evidence contained in a decision-making business case.
They will also decide on a new clinical model at the meeting, which will be streamed live using Microsoft Teams due to coronavirus social distancing rules.
Under the CCGs’ proposals, the majority of people will see no change to where they receive their hospital care but would be treated in buildings that meet 21st century healthcare standards.
The plans include bringing six core services together for the sickest patients needing more specialist care and births in hospital on one site in a new purpose-built specialist emergency care hospital. This will enable the hospitals to meet clinical standards and improve the quality and outcome of care for all residents.
Regardless of where the new hospital is located, at least £80 million would be invested in Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, which would retain the majority of services and be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with urgent treatment centres operating at both.
Members of the public, who will be able to watch the Committees in Common meeting via a link that will be published on the Improving Healthcare Together website, have until midday on Wednesday 1 July to submit a question to the panel relating to items on the agenda has just been published. Click here to view the papers for the Committees in Common meeting.
They can do so by:
- Emailing: hello@improvinghealthcaretogether.org.uk
- Calling: 0203 880 0271
- Texting: 07500 063191.
Dr Andrew Murray, GP and Clinical Chair at NHS South West London CCG, said: “We’re grateful to everyone who took part in our consultation – we’ll look at all those views and all the evidence to help us make this hugely important decision on 3 July.
“We have a fantastic opportunity to build a state-of-the-art hospital with more single rooms for better infection control housing a range of specialists working together which will benefit patients every day.”
Dr Charlotte Canniff, GP and Clinical Chair, NHS Surrey Heartlands CCG, said: “This is a once in a generation chance to invest £500m into better healthcare services for the benefit of both patients and staff for many decades to come.
“It is important to stress that under any of the proposals most services will stay where they are now and once a final decision is made there will be at least five years to work with communities to ensure the newly built and refurbished existing hospitals work seamlessly together.”
The independent analysis of the consultation feedback published last month revealed that on balance across all strands of the consultation Sutton received more support as the preferred site for the new facility.
Other analysis included:
- Many consultees recognised the challenges facing the NHS nationally and at Epsom and St Helier hospitals locally
- Widespread support for the proposed clinical model to address the case for change, particularly from NHS staff and clinical stakeholders
- The additional £500m investment was welcomed.