Monday 19th January 7.30pm

Sutton, Merton & Surrey Joint Health Scrutiny Committee

The main item of interest for this meeting was an update on the review of Women’s and Children’s Services provided at Epsom & St Helier hospitals. Following on from consultation events and working groups which took place in the previous year it had been decided to pursue the partnership options idea. By working in partnership with a larger nearby hospital it may be possible to retain maternity and paediatric services at both Epsom & St Helier whilst satisfying the Working Time directives. Discussions on a partnership between St Helier & St Georges hospitals are well under way and look very promising. Surrey PCT is leading the work in relation to Epsom hospital but this is less advanced.

 

Plans for St Helier are for a Level 2 Neonatal intensive care unit; a traditional labour ward with consultant cover and a midwife-led unit. A formal partnership with St Georges would allow sharing of knowledge and expertise.

 

It is hoped that this project will be completed by the end of March.

 

The other item worth noting was the Management Review of Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust which was looking into proposals to split the Trust either into two separate trusts or to merge part of the Trust with another body. This is an ongoing project and consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers have been employed by the Trust to assist.

 

It was agreed by the committee that the proposals made sense as Epsom served the Surrey PCT whilst St Helier was mainly commissioned by the Sutton & Merton PCT. The demographics of the two areas differed significantly too. I expressed some concerns over the costs involved in the review and also the time it would take. The last thing we want to see is the decision dragging on and on. The review is due to be completed in Spring 2009.