St. Helier Hospital Launches New 20/30 Campaign
Last week, Epsom & St Helier Hospital announced it's intention to seek residents views on it's future with a guide setting out 6 possible scenarios for the future of the hospital from 2020 - 2030.
Local residents will know that the 'battle to save St-Helier' has been a long, protracted and highly politicised conflict with emotions running high on both sides.
Yet with the trust announcing only this week that it was to undergo a 12 million pound facelift due to complete by 2020 it suggests the future of the site is looking much more positive than in recent years. (Though it is worth noting there is a backlog maintenance bill amounting to 80 million.)
In short the proposals look at 6 scenarios with public documents suggesting that both management and medical staff prefer 3 options that will see an acute unit (i.e wards to cope with A&E, Maternity and Stroke) being placed in one site. Either: Epsom, St Helier or Royal Marsden at Sutton. It is stated that in doing so 85% of patient services will not be affected by this and it is expected that the single specialist unit will be more efficient to run.
Protesters point out currently there are two acute sites, one at Epsom and one at St Helier and both should continue, and that this is a just a way of moving services away from the St Helier site.
At the last Merton Park Residents Association, St Helier Hospital Chief Executive, Daniel Elkeles, presented a positive and upbeat future which, Turners reported on in a previous blog, Now the Epsom and St Helier trust is asking for your views in their new booklet their vision for 2020 - 2030 which you can download by clicking on the images below. You may also like to watch the accompanying video...
Note we would like to remind readers this is just a blog and our writing cannot be held as the views and opinions of any particular people or organisations. Turners are simply posting this blog as a way for residents to access publicly available material (including any figures quoted) and in all cases we suggest you seek out further information from official sources.
