On 3rd of July 2020, NHS South West London and NHS Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)* have met in Common to determine the best solution for addressing the long-standing challenges currently facing Epsom and St Helier hospitals.
Having considered all the available evidence and following discussion the CCG members agreed to adopt the following resolutions:
- To agree and adopt the clinical model for the delivery of district hospital services and the specialist emergency care hospital (SECH).
- To agree that the preferred option for the location of the SECH is Sutton, with continued provision of district hospital services at Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital.
- To agree and adopt the 24 recommendations for implementation set out in the Decision-Making Business Case; and
- To establish a Strategic Executive Group and Strategic Oversight Group to monitor the delivery of the recommendations throughout implementation.
Now that the decision has been made, it will take several years for the programme to be completed. A significant amount of work will need to be done to implement the service improvements that patients will experience. None of the six services would be brought together until the new SECH is built which, under our preferred option, would be 2025 at the earliest.
Following the CCGs’ decision-making, the implementation phase of the Programme will be led by the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (ESTH).
In line with key stages in the investment approval process, to secure the funding for the preferred option, ESTH will need to:
- Develop an outline business case (OBC); and
- Develop a full business case (FBC).
As part of this process, ESTH will need to secure commissioners’ support for the two business cases. This support will be contingent upon meeting 24 recommendations drawn out by the two CCGs for implementation.
Commissioners and regulators will continue to provide strategic oversight of future plans to ensure that recommendations and any business cases are implemented.
To keep up-to-date with progress, please visit the NHS Surrey Heartlands CCG, NHS South West London CCG and the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust websites.
* From 1st April 2020, four CCGs in Surrey, including Surrey Downs CCG have joined together to create a new singular commissioning organisation across the area – the Surrey Heartlands CCG; Similarly, CCGs in South West London, including Sutton and Merton CCGs, have joined several other CCGs to form South West London CCG. The IHT programme addresses the reconfiguration of six major acute services within the combined geographies of the Surrey Downs, Sutton and Merton areas.