18 November
Epsom Town Hall was full last Wednesday (11 November 2009) for a public meeting about proposals to invest millions of pounds at Epsom Hospital. The meeting was jointly organised by Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, NHS Surrey and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Trust used the meeting to reiterate its commitment to retain accident and emergency and women and children's services on the site, based on the commissioning intentions of its local NHS partners which were announced earlier this year.,
In addition, Samantha Jones, the Trust's Chief Executive and Jon Sargeant, the Director of Finance, who is leading the project work at Epsom Hospital, told local people that up to £70 million could be invested in the buildings on the site.
This excludes any additional funding which may come from third parties, such as local charities or other NHS organisations.
As part of his presentation, Jon explained how the Trust had drawn up a 'strategic outline case' for the hospital site, otherwise known as the 'vision' for Epsom Hospital.
This had been developed by working with key stakeholders, including Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, as well as councillors, MPs, representatives of the local community and other NHS partners.
The proposal, which was approved by the Trust's Board on 6 November and will now be sent to the Trust's strategic health authority, NHS London, includes six possible options for the future of the site. Once given the go-ahead from NHS London, the Trust can start to develop an 'outline business case' for the site, which will include more detailed plans and costs.
After the presentations there were a number of questions and comments from the audience.
The meeting was chaired by Councillor Eber Kington, Vice Chairman of the Council's Strategy & Resources Committee. He promised the Council would keep residents informed about developments at the site.
Councillor Kington said: "We were very pleased to host this public meeting on such an important issue. Residents learnt that there will be no early breaking of the ties with St Helier Hospital, but were given the opportunity to explore what this means for the future of key services at Epsom. They were also told about funding plans, although it was clear that no actual funding bids have yet been made.
"The Trust revealed that they are working on six options for the future of Epsom Hospital which include options to retain the site as it is now as well a new modern medical village scenario. Both refurbishment and new build are also being considered.
"It therefore remains important that residents and the Borough Council keep a watching brief and make their voices heard as these proposals move forward. We will be setting up a dedicated part of the Borough Council's website to keep the community informed and to invite them to give us their comments. These will then be fed into the meetings at which the Council is represented."
Samantha Jones, Trust Chief Executive said: "The development of a vision for Epsom Hospital is the first step to a major multi-million pound investment into the site, helping to ensure we have the right buildings and infrastructure in place to meet the future needs of the people of Epsom and surrounding areas.
"Whilst there is still a lot of work to do, including receiving all the necessary approvals and, more importantly, securing the funding, it is extremely good news for the site."
