The St Helier Gherkin!! - A "Health Observer" Special
The "Health Observer" is an integral part of the Sutton Council Observer. Some of us would of course much prefer the Council to be fully part of a Health and Social Care Partnership Board to jointly commission primary care in the borough.
The day before that Acting Chief Executive of the NHS, Ian Carruthers in a national Guardian interview (see Guardian Society section Today), was talking about less A&E's to reduce the NHS deficit, I was fortunate to have a public meeting on the future of St Helier organised by Tom Brake MP, with St Helier Ward Councillors and Caroline Taylor, Chief Executive of the Sutton and Merton PCT present.
I pointed out that the Sutton Hospital option was 4th choice in the consultation and runner up with just 27% support in Sutton, that Royal Marsden had left the BHCH Programme Board and there was no evidence these was any finance available to support a £350 million project.
I asked Caroline about the potential LCH in Wallington and she confirmed this was likely to develop from the proposed clinic in Shotfield. I welcome this and hope that it has all-party support. Caroline noted my view that if we had the LCH's first, we wouldn't be having so much of a row over the CCH site.
Caroline also confirmed in answer to my question, the development of Intermediate Care at the Carshalton War Memorial site. This may well be partly funded through the disposal of the Ludlow Lodge site. I suspect this may also involve the Franklin House site as well. Perhaps an early consultation is required with Ward Councillors and familes affected. This will then just leave Oakleigh run by the Council and no doubt Eleanor Pinbfold and Mike Broad will keep a close eye on that.
What Caroline and others in the local NHS are not at present able to answer is:
a) Who will run the LCH's. This is likely to slow the whole project down as much as the uncertainly over the sites. I am a supporter of Epsom and St Helier Trust running the St Helier site as it makes logisitical sense. I assume a GP consortia will run Wallington. The other site in terms of where it is (though Ruth Dombey wants the Sutton Hospital site) and who will run it, is completely unclear. We may like Merton only end up with 2 LCH's as the Sutton site may be required for part disposal. I have no great problem with posh homes on the site (and a big commutted sum for affordable housing) if that will make Paul Burstow and Peter Geiringer happy.
b) The abysmal amount of money (£53 million) allocated in the SOC to the 5 LCH's for Merton and Sutton. That is less than £11 million for each site. When you think about their preference for just a St Helier LCH, £11 million is only a part rebuild and not a new full hospital at St Helier. Another good reason to have a CCH there as well.
I asked Tom Brake whether he would join me in objecting to the revised Sutton Local Development Framework to ensure it did not prevent a taller building being built on the site. Tom came across as broadly sympathetic, but said he preferred to issue a formal written statment to this blog, which I will be happy to print.
Note to Tom Jeffrey, Jeff, Sally and other planning staff and Lyn Gleeson - how about saving some time by recognising what is probably a majority view on the Council (presumably Jayne McCoy and Brendan Hudson will join Sue Stears in declaring interests and when you add in the likely support of a majority of Lib Dem Councillors and the Tories, I believe the tall building option does actually have majority support in the chamber. The only assumed supporters of the Sutton Hospital option in the past were Don Brims (stood down) and John Leach (a former St helier Trust Director - but he also wants a big swimming pool built in the middle of Rosehill Recreation Ground as well and who is listening to that!!) .
Rather amusingly Tom Brake described my suggestion of a taller St Helier Hospital as "The St Helier Gherkin".
I am actually quite proud of this recognition as what we need is a bit of vision. If it were left to our planning department (as surrently interpreted by NHS employed consultants), it seems we will will end up with a squat 3-4 story building on the Sutton site, whereas I would be arguing for a landmark building with "ocean liner" features at St Helier that could be seen across all of South London - a superb competitior against St Georges in an era of patients choice, and one that Royal Marsden and ICR might want to dispose their lucrative sites for to lease a few storeys. However instead we get the Princes Trust coming up with a 3 storey "boanx" near the edge of the downs.
Let's see what happens, but if we leave it to the local NHS establishment I currently predict: No vision and and no imagination. Thats why they probably won't in the end secure any finance for their "compromise" Sutton scheme!! The alternative is to build a consensus in Sutton for a landmark hospital site. Over to those parties who are represented in the Council Chamber??
The day before that Acting Chief Executive of the NHS, Ian Carruthers in a national Guardian interview (see Guardian Society section Today), was talking about less A&E's to reduce the NHS deficit, I was fortunate to have a public meeting on the future of St Helier organised by Tom Brake MP, with St Helier Ward Councillors and Caroline Taylor, Chief Executive of the Sutton and Merton PCT present.
I pointed out that the Sutton Hospital option was 4th choice in the consultation and runner up with just 27% support in Sutton, that Royal Marsden had left the BHCH Programme Board and there was no evidence these was any finance available to support a £350 million project.
I asked Caroline about the potential LCH in Wallington and she confirmed this was likely to develop from the proposed clinic in Shotfield. I welcome this and hope that it has all-party support. Caroline noted my view that if we had the LCH's first, we wouldn't be having so much of a row over the CCH site.
Caroline also confirmed in answer to my question, the development of Intermediate Care at the Carshalton War Memorial site. This may well be partly funded through the disposal of the Ludlow Lodge site. I suspect this may also involve the Franklin House site as well. Perhaps an early consultation is required with Ward Councillors and familes affected. This will then just leave Oakleigh run by the Council and no doubt Eleanor Pinbfold and Mike Broad will keep a close eye on that.
What Caroline and others in the local NHS are not at present able to answer is:
a) Who will run the LCH's. This is likely to slow the whole project down as much as the uncertainly over the sites. I am a supporter of Epsom and St Helier Trust running the St Helier site as it makes logisitical sense. I assume a GP consortia will run Wallington. The other site in terms of where it is (though Ruth Dombey wants the Sutton Hospital site) and who will run it, is completely unclear. We may like Merton only end up with 2 LCH's as the Sutton site may be required for part disposal. I have no great problem with posh homes on the site (and a big commutted sum for affordable housing) if that will make Paul Burstow and Peter Geiringer happy.
b) The abysmal amount of money (£53 million) allocated in the SOC to the 5 LCH's for Merton and Sutton. That is less than £11 million for each site. When you think about their preference for just a St Helier LCH, £11 million is only a part rebuild and not a new full hospital at St Helier. Another good reason to have a CCH there as well.
I asked Tom Brake whether he would join me in objecting to the revised Sutton Local Development Framework to ensure it did not prevent a taller building being built on the site. Tom came across as broadly sympathetic, but said he preferred to issue a formal written statment to this blog, which I will be happy to print.
Note to Tom Jeffrey, Jeff, Sally and other planning staff and Lyn Gleeson - how about saving some time by recognising what is probably a majority view on the Council (presumably Jayne McCoy and Brendan Hudson will join Sue Stears in declaring interests and when you add in the likely support of a majority of Lib Dem Councillors and the Tories, I believe the tall building option does actually have majority support in the chamber. The only assumed supporters of the Sutton Hospital option in the past were Don Brims (stood down) and John Leach (a former St helier Trust Director - but he also wants a big swimming pool built in the middle of Rosehill Recreation Ground as well and who is listening to that!!) .
Rather amusingly Tom Brake described my suggestion of a taller St Helier Hospital as "The St Helier Gherkin".
I am actually quite proud of this recognition as what we need is a bit of vision. If it were left to our planning department (as surrently interpreted by NHS employed consultants), it seems we will will end up with a squat 3-4 story building on the Sutton site, whereas I would be arguing for a landmark building with "ocean liner" features at St Helier that could be seen across all of South London - a superb competitior against St Georges in an era of patients choice, and one that Royal Marsden and ICR might want to dispose their lucrative sites for to lease a few storeys. However instead we get the Princes Trust coming up with a 3 storey "boanx" near the edge of the downs.
Let's see what happens, but if we leave it to the local NHS establishment I currently predict: No vision and and no imagination. Thats why they probably won't in the end secure any finance for their "compromise" Sutton scheme!! The alternative is to build a consensus in Sutton for a landmark hospital site. Over to those parties who are represented in the Council Chamber??
posted by Charlie Mansell at 4:31 pm
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