FAQs 

FAQs - Temporary relocation of St Helier Hospital’s women’s health services

Last updated 4 November 2026

What is wrong with E Block and what needs to change?

· We have found low levels of Legionella and Pseudomonas in the water supply throughout the building. Filters are in place and regular water testing shows that our facilities are safe for patients, visitors and colleagues. However, this is not a long-term solution as it will only get worse if we don’t do anything.

What are the proposed solutions?

· Following a detailed review involving clinical and estates colleagues, as well as representation from the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, two options have been shortlisted for further assessment.

· These were assessed against three key criteria: whether they remove the water safety risk within a reasonable timeframe, whether they introduce other safety risks, and whether they are financially viable.

· The two options are:

o Hybrid / partial decant - carrying out the works one floor at a time, vacating and refurbishing spaces in sequence.

o Dispersal of services - temporarily moving maternity and neonatal services to other services across south west London, while gynaecology and other specialist services remain on site.

Why is this happening now and why aren’t you waiting for the new hospital?

· Unfortunately, our new hospital has been delayed, and we cannot wait. We need to keep patients and colleagues safe. Although the water supply to the ward is currently safe, we cannot guarantee that this will remain the case.

Decision-making

· No preferred option has been chosen, and no decision has been made to relocate services. There is still a significant amount of work to do before any final decision is taken.

· Both options are currently being assessed in parallel, drawing on technical advice and colleague and patient experience

Impact on patient care

What does this mean for anyone using the services in the block, especially expectant mothers who are currently due to have birth at St Helier’s maternity services?

· Maternity and all women’s health services at St Helier will continue as usual, and any expectant mothers who book now will still receive their care at St Helier. Once decisions have been made, we will communicate this with patients and our communities well in advance.

How will women’s choice of maternity service be protected?

· Both service capacity and the choices available will be considered together. If a decision is made to move services, further work will be required to guarantee that women can access their preferred service, while ensuring that the receiving hospitals can safely manage demand.

Can you guarantee services, including maternity, will move back into the building or remain on site?

· Significant work is needed to fully understand the extent of the work needed to make the building safe for everyone using the services, including patients, their families and our colleagues.

· As with a lot of older hospitals, many of the pipes are housed within the structure of the building and we need to thoroughly check whether there is any asbestos present. This would pose unacceptable risks to both patients and colleagues to do this work with mums and babies present.

· Any change would be a temporary move, and our priority is to retain as many services as possible on the St Helier site.

Why don’t you use the recently allocated £57million given to St Helier’s emergency department to fund this issue?

· The money we recently received for St Helier Emergency Department was specifically designated for our emergency department services.

Why can’t you perform the work while services are in place?

· The project is large, complex and expected to last almost four years, meaning patients and staff would be exposed to construction and water safety risks for a prolonged period.

· Premature babies, newborn infants and patients with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to infection. Construction work can create dust, debris and airborne particles that increase this risk.

· A range of critical safety measures would need to be maintained continuously throughout the project while construction takes place next to clinical services, making it difficult to manage risks over such a long period.

Why does E Block present a higher risk than other buildings with Legionella or Pseudomonas?

· E Block presents additional challenges due to the age and condition of the pipework, restricted access and the fact that it houses some of our most vulnerable patient group in the hospital.

· Premature and sick newborn babies have immature immune systems and are more vulnerable to environmental and waterborne infections. Newborn babies are at higher risk of developing serious infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Is the water at St Helier’s Women’s Health services currently safe?

· Yes – the current mitigations in place to ensure the safety of our water, including those recommended by external experts are effective, with monitoring and regular testing taking place. There have not been any clinical infections associated with the water.

· The mitigations do not provide a long-term solution, meaning we cannot guarantee water safety in the long term. This is why it is crucial we take action sooner rather than later.

How can you be sure babies have not been harmed?

· There have been no clinical infections associated with the water system identified through surveillance and monitoring. Current control measures remain effective.

· We also test the water regularly and the filters are changed regularly as per manufacturers’ guidance. There have not been any clinical infections associated with the water.

When will the safety measures you have in place stop being effective?

· The current mitigations in place to ensure the safety of our water, including those recommended by external experts, are effective, with monitoring and regular testing taking place. They do not however provide a long-term solution.

· Significant work is needed to provide a sustainable and permanent solution, as the pre-war pipework will need to be replaced, which is not possible to do while maintaining a good birth experience and safe environment for vulnerable new babies in the building.

· We do not want to be forced to act quickly by circumstances beyond our control, which is why we are assessing options, and talking to our colleagues and communities now while we can still do this in a planned way.

· Long-term reliance on filters, monitoring and frequent water testing does not address the underlying condition of the water system or the ageing pipework.

Why could you not just replace the filters if they work so well?

· Regular testing shows that the filters are very effective. But they are not designed to be a permanent solution.

· Long term use of point of use filters (e.g. fitted to the taps) is not recommended as, although effective as a short term measure, they slow the water flow in the building, which increases the risk of further bacterial build up.

Other hospitals experience bacterial contamination. Why can’t the filters simply remain in place?

· Filters help protect against exposure to waterborne bacteria, including Legionella and Pseudomonas, but they are a short-term measure. They do not remove contamination from the wider water system and can restrict water flow.

· Our independent water safety expert has advised that the problem must be addressed at source. Replacing the affected pipework is therefore necessary to provide a sustainable, long-term solution.

Why might an emergency decant be necessary if filters are providing protection?

· Filters provide an important safeguard but can restrict water flow, particularly when used extensively, as in E Block.

· The site has historically experienced low water flow due partly to its elevation in Carshalton. We have invested in pumps and additional water storage tanks to improve supply and maintain flow despite the filters.

· An emergency decant is a contingency should the risks increase or existing controls become insufficient to ensure safety.

St George’s has Legionella in its water system. Why is that manageable, but E Block presents a greater risk?

· The focus isn't just on whether Legionella bacteria are there, but whether we know how to control the risks so patients and colleagues stay safe

· For Lanesborough Wing, an independent safety check in April 2026 gave us a good rating. There are no urgent problems to fix, and water test results have been steadily getting better.

· E Block has unique, serious challenges that make it hard to guarantee long-term safety. The pipes are old and damaged, there is contamination in the system, and it is hard to inspect or fix because of asbestos. We also lack complete historical records for it.

· While the risks in the Lanesborough Wing are currently under control using standard maintenance, E Block cannot be fixed with simple maintenance – it needs a major replacement of its water infrastructure to solve the root problem for good.

What are Pseudomonas and Legionella?

· Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a type of bacteria that is found in soil and water, and likely to live in wet areas including taps and shower heads, face flannels and sponges. It does not usually cause infections except in people who already have a weakened immune system or those with immune systems which have not fully developed.

· Legionella bacteria are commonly found in water systems and can pose a health risk, particularly in the form of Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia.

Staff and Patient Engagement

How will individual staff views be heard before the Board makes its decision?

· We have held meetings with colleagues and staff representatives to hear as many views as possible. We will continue to engage with them to listen to their concerns and answer queries.

Will patients and service users also be asked for their views?

· We are working with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) to ensure that the needs of patients and service users are included in our decision-making. A full engagement exercise, to include views from our communities, will be undertaken on the preferred option.

Can you guarantee staff will be able to stay at St Helier?

· Individual services all have different needs, and these will need to be accommodated. If a service cannot remain on the site, we will prioritise supporting colleagues to move with the service, or if needed, secure another role which suits them.

· Although the number of births has dropped significantly, we know complexity is greater and mums and babies will need the same support, wherever they are looked after.

Will staff be made redundant if any of the services need to move?

· There is no intention to make redundancies. Our priority is to continue delivering Women’s Health and neonatal services while retaining the skills, experience and expertise of our workforce.

· Workforce planning will need to be undertaken alongside service planning to ensure the right skill mix is in place to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.

· Any proposals affecting specific roles will be communicated and discussed with colleagues as they are developed. The demand for gynaecology and assisted conception has not changed and a skilled work force will be needed to deliver this activity.

· Although the number of births has dropped significantly, we know complexity is greater and mums and babies will need the same support, wherever they are looked after

Are the trade unions being engaged in this process?

· We will continue to collaborate with staff side partners to ensure that the best interests of our colleagues are at the forefront.

Has an equality impact assessment taken place?

· We are conducting an equality impact assessment for each option under consideration.

· As a Trust, we have a key focus on ensuring that our services appropriately support patients and the families of the diverse communities we serve.

· We will consider the needs of the local population as a priority when considering development plans.

Wider Estates Challenges

This is clearly a maintenance issue – what is being done for the rest of the estate?

· The wider St Helier estate is reliant on pipework of a similar age to that in E Block. However, the flow of water is better, therefore there is less of a risk of infections on other parts of the estate.

Why is E Block different from the other buildings on site?

· The water pipework in E Block is in exceptionally poor condition. A sample showed extensive corrosion, and the system is more than 90 years old.

· Maintaining the pipework has been difficult because of restricted access, particularly due to the presence of asbestos. We also have limited records and drawings, making it difficult to fully understand the system and identify potential risks.

· In 2025, extensive sampling identified widespread bacterial contamination, although at low levels. Subsequent sampling has shown improvement following mitigation measures, but contamination remains. By comparison, recent sampling elsewhere on the hospital site found only marginally elevated bacterial counts in more than 60 samples.

· The combination of poor pipework condition, persistent contamination and limited access means E Block continues to present a risk of a serious water safety incident, despite the measures in place.

Why don’t we know where all the pipes are?

· We have been unable to carry out an intrusive water risk assessment because accessing the building fabric has historically been considered too great an infection prevention and control risk. As a result, our understanding of the pipework layout and modifications made over the years is limited, making it harder to identify and assess potential risks.

If you don’t know where all the pipes are, how do you know there is asbestos?

· We know that much of the pipework is encased in asbestos-containing cladding. However, restricted access means we cannot fully assess the condition and extent of the asbestos throughout the building.

Some hospital buildings are Victorian. Why is the age of E Block’s pipework a concern?

· Age alone does not determine risk; the condition and maintenance of the pipework are equally important. Older systems can remain relatively low risk if well maintained.

· In E Block, extensive corrosion, persistent bacterial contamination, and restricted access make the situation particularly challenging. Replacing the pipework is therefore necessary because of the overall risk, not simply its age.

Why is E Block being considered for major changes when other hospitals also have water contamination issues?

· Finding bacteria isn’t the only issue – the real test is control. Just finding waterborne organisms doesn't automatically mean people are in danger. The most important things are knowing why the bacteria are there and proving that the hospital can keep the risks under control permanently.

· E Block has widespread contamination. Both Legionella and Pseudomonas bacteria have been found across many different parts of the E Block building, meaning the issue is not just limited to one or two isolated areas.

· The building's plumbing has major, hidden problems. Independent experts found that the pipes are old and in poor condition. Fixing and checking the system is extra difficult because asbestos blocks access, no one is completely sure where all the pipes lead, and past maintenance records are missing.

· You cannot compare different hospitals. While other hospitals also find bacteria in their water from time to time, every building is completely different. Because each hospital has its own unique plumbing layout, risk levels, safety rules, and management quality, you cannot fairly compare them to one another.