St Helier Hospital - A Health Observer Update

Some interesting points:

1. If the Epsom and St Helier Trust is cutting back on staffing as reports suggest, then do we see them planning ahead for a transition between CCH and LCH where we will need some excess capacity to mmanage the change?

2. Has anyone noticed that under new London-wide Commissioning arrangements that Merton and Sutton PCT is the lead PCT for negotiating with the Epsom and St Helier Trust. This will mean that Merton and Sutton negotiate on behalf of the new Surrey PCT for the Epsom area. With the Surrey PCT covering a much larger area than the old EEMS PCT, we are rapidly moving to an Acute Trust mainly focussed on the Merton and Sutton area, with an elective facility in the Epsom area.

3. Surrey County Council still seems to be "considering" its judicial review of the BHCH decision. In any case even the case goes ahead the only winners will be lawyers as at best BHCH will go back to the beginning and it will still be dependent on separate financial approval.

4. The new Epsom Hospital surgery arrangements are meant to be coming in to place by October.

5. There have been two cancellations of meetings meant to give an update on BHCH to stakeholders. Hardly evidence of a move forward.

6. The PCT seems to be at last independently moving ahead with LCH's at Nelson, Wilson and at Wallington. This will be generally welcomed. I hope once this moves forward that the Acute Trust announces it is setting up a badged LCH within the current St Helier Hospital.

7. Within the next two years we should have seen 3 local facilities developed at Robin Hood Lane, Shotfield and at Middleton Circle. These seem to point to a much mort localised way forward than the BHCH masterplanning exercise.

With all the above happening, do we see the "stalinist" masterplan that was BHCH moving forward or do we see a much more localised evolutionary approach where the PCT in partnership with the local authority and GP's evolve a more localised "bottom-up" service whilst the Acute Trust in effect implements the 2000 "Investing in Excellence" programme and then looks to how it can widen it services for the PCT to commision.