Sutton Council has called for the NHS to keep residents informed about the fate of St Helier Hospital after managers were unable guarantee the future of its A&E and maternity services.
NHS Chief Executive Matthew Hopkins spoke to Sutton Council’s Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee about the future of the hospital but was unable to allay fears that NHS reviews would lead to the closure of local services.
The hospital’s future was thrown into uncertainty when a proposed merger with St George’s, Tooting, fell through. The merger would have allowed St Helier to become a foundation trust, a process which all NHS organisations must undergo by 2014. The government has confirmed that St Helier does not meet the criteria and cannot become a foundation trust alone, so hospital bosses are now looking at what support they can receive from external stakeholders and the local community to secure services at the organisation and hoping for an extension to the 2014 date.
At the meeting, Mr Matthew Hopkins stressed St Helier’s excellent patient feedback and assured councillors that the Trust is doing all it can to “work with staff and stakeholders to secure, if at all possible, a secure and financially stable future.”
However, when pressed by councillors for a cast-iron guarantee that St Helier’s future is secure, Mr Hopkins was forced to admit that currently he does not know which services will remain at the site.
St. Helier Hospital, Carshalton
Lib Dem Cllr. Mary Burstow, Chair of the Committee, said “It is extremely concerning that NHS London is unable to guarantee the future of St Helier Hospital. While it is good to hear that St Helier Hospital bosses are keen to work with the community to secure services at the site, there has been a shadow over the hospital’s future for five years now and it’s time for the NHS to be honest about where it stands.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult time for staff and patients at St Helier, and everyone in our local community. The hospital has been working hard to secure services, but it needs NHS London chiefs to get behind it and agree plans before they can go ahead. We all want guarantees that services are secure, but until this can happen it is vital that those who will be affected most by the changes are kept well informed, even when the news is not good. The collapse of the planned merger with St George’s has left bosses without a firm plan, and the council will be pushing for honesty, transparency and community engagement from the NHS until the new plans are confirmed.”
The Government have told St Helier Hospital that they can have £219 million to build the new extension. But in the NHS life is not that simple.
The money is broken down into different elements. For each element St Helier Hospital has to put forward a business case, which must be approved by NHS London. NHS London have already approved the first £5 million for preparation work to the site.
The next £12 million will pay for the old Sutton Hospital site to be prepared, for Ferguson House to be decanted into the Old Sutton Hospital and for Ferguson House to be demolished.
We have been told that NHS london have given it “Amber Green approval”. This means St Helier Hospital have prepared a very good business case and it should be approved. But we’ve been told that they have not approved it! Why?
The mental health services at Sutton Hospital will be decanted into the soon to be completed Wallington Care Centre.
The Care Centre was due to be completed in June 2012. It has now been delayed until August 2012. The move from Ferguson House to Sutton Mental Hospital has therefore also been delayed.
NHS London have therefore decided to delay giving final approval for the £12 million.
Whilst local councillors accept that NHS London do not need to give St Helier hospital the £12 million now. We believe that they could still make the decision and say YES! We believe that the impact of this simple action on staff morale at St Helier Hospital would be immense.