For well over a decade the need for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust to build a new specialist acute care facility to address its shocking secondary health infrastructure has been held out in front of us.
I was delighted to learn late last year that funding for this has finally been approved. We are now at the final public consultation stage which will determine the preferred site for this facility between the three options of Epsom Hospital, St Helier Hospital, and Sutton (adjacent to the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital)
The three potential sites all have their local community advocates and in the case of the St Helier campaign have been responsible for the decade-long continued delay. To those managing the NHS, at all levels, Sutton is the preferred site on all the key health, business and service metrics, and not least because of its proximity to acute cancer care expertise in the Royal Marsden Hospital, which brings and sustains the local community’s access to globally leading treatment.
But this is a political process that now relies on a public consultation. If the people who will benefit the most from the proximity of the new site simply do not engage in the process, assuming the technical merit of the Sutton site scheme alone should suffice, they may get a disagreeable surprise. Buildings, particularly old ones where generations have been cared for produce emotional loyalty unrelated to any modern health service provision question. It is why hospitals are such fraught political issues. A brand new hospital has no such established cohort of support.
Therefore, those closest to the best, but new, site must not let the consultation pass as though it is irrelevant.
I urge/implore/beg as many people as possible to engage with this consultation and help ensure that Sutton is confirmed as the agreed site for this new state of the art facility. In my constituency, I want to enjoy the long-overlooked health infrastructure interests of the residents of Banstead village and secure this fabulous new £500 million investment for our care. Now we must complete the final stage in giving our view.
The consultation closes on 1 April.
*** Sent on behalf of Matthew Tait and Dr Russell Hills ***
Consultation on £500m Epsom St Helier proposals now live
Today, Wednesday 8 January 2020, we are launching a public consultation on three potential options for the location of a brand-new specialist emergency care hospital – on the Epsom, St Helier or Sutton hospital sites.
This follows our message to you on Monday to let you know that health leaders from NHS Surrey Downs, Sutton and Merton Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) agreed to launch this public consultation of the three potential options, Sutton was agreed by the CCGs as a preferred option for the consultation, but health leaders were clear that all three options could be delivered by the NHS.
We are now urging people to give us their views on our proposals during this public consultation which launches today, Wednesday 8 January and will close on Wednesday 1 April 2020. No decisions will be made on the future of Epsom and St Helier hospitals until the spring/summer when the CCGs will consider the views of local people and all the clinical and financial evidence.
We would be grateful for your support in actively encouraging your local communities to give us their views.
As well as responding online directly to the consultation questionnaire, people can get involved through a whole range of different ways designed to make sure the NHS hears as many voices, from as many communities as possible, including those who find it difficult to go to meetings or respond in writing. We have briefly outlined some of the ways people can get involved at the end of this email, including details of nine listening events. A copy of the questionnaire, the summary and full consultation documents and more detail about events and consultation activity can all be found on our website at https://improvinghealthcaretogether.org.uk/consultation/.
Below we have briefly outlined some of the ways people can get involved with the consultation and talk to us about our proposals.
- A series of 9 public listening events (3 in each CCG area)- open invite to share information on proposed options for change, answer specific questions from the public to increase understanding of the consultation and proposals, as well as invite and listen to feedback and encourage people to respond to the consultation questionnaire.
CCG Area
Date
Time
Location of meeting
January
Sutton
21-Jan-2020
18:30 - 20:30
Holiday Inn, Gibson Rd, London, Sutton SM1 2RF
Merton
24-Jan 2020
13:30 - 17:30
Chaucer Centre, Canterbury Rd, Morden SM4 6PX
Surrey Downs
28-Jan-2020
13:30 - 15:30
Kings Church Epsom, Longmead Rd, Epsom KT19 9BU
February
Surrey Downs
11-Feb-2020
18:30 - 20:30
Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom Downs, Epsom KT18 5LQ
Sutton
12-Feb-2020
13:00 - 15:00
The Phoenix Centre, Mollison Dr, Wallington SM6 9NZ
Merton
12-Feb 2020
18:30 - 20:30
New Horizon Centre, New Horizon Centre, S Lodge Ave, Mitcham, London CR4 1LT
March
Sutton
02-Mar-2020
18:30 - 20:30
St Helier Community Association, Hill House, Bishopsford Rd, Carshalton, Morden SM4 6BL
Merton
05-Mar 2020
18:30 - 20:30
Chak 89 105 Bond Rd, Mitcham CR4 3HG
Surrey Downs
17-Mar-2020
18:30 - 20:30
Bookham Community Association 51 Church Rd, Great Bookham, Leatherhead KT23 3PQ
- Pop-up stalls in busy places- to raise awareness of the consultation, share information and encourage people to ask questions and complete the consultation questionnaire.
- Funding voluntary groups- to help communities with various protected characteristics and seldom heard groups engage with the consultation.
- Targeted outreach work- engagement activities with groups such as older people and deprived communities as well as seldom heard groups like people with learning disabilities.
- Telephone surveys- based on the questions within the consultation questionnaire and will target a representative range of views from the combined geographies and neighbouring areas of those who may not otherwise contribute to the consultation
To keep up to date on the consultation visit the Improving Healthcare Together 2020-2030 Facebook page or the @IHTogether Twitter feed.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Russell Hills, Clinical Chair Surrey Downs CCG
Matthew Tait, Chief Officer Surrey Heartlands ICS