Barnet, Enfield and Haringey (BEH) Clinical Strategy Project Board today announced that 'Option 1' proposed in the 'Your Health, Your Future' consultation will be implemented to drive forward the improvement of health services across the three boroughs. 

 

The decision was made after 3 key steps: 

 

1.  The BEH Clinical Strategy Project Board recommended on 27 November that 'Option 1' - which will see inpatient planned care concentrated on the Chase Farm site - is implemented, following a majority of public consultation responses in favour of this move  (see Notes to Editors for this recommendation)  

 

2.  This recommendation was approved by all three individual PCT Boards, which met 

separately yesterday, 11 December,  

 

3.  Today the Project Board received the decision of the three PCTs and implementation planning work is now ready to begin 

 

Today's announcement will pave the way for a £100 million investment across health services in Barnet, Enfield and Haringey, which will go into expanding the Barnet & North Middlesex Hospital buildings to accommodate additional capacity, as well as rebuilding and  refurbishing parts of  Chase Farm Hospital.   

 

Carolyn Berkeley, Chair of the BEH Clinical Strategy Project Board said today:  

 

"I welcome this decision by the three PCT Boards and now look forward to taking this project, which will improve healthcare across Barnet, Enfield and Haringey, to the next stage.   

 

"We will now focus on the independent review described in the Board's recommendation and the more detailed planning, which will involve a £100 million investment in local services.  

 

"I would also once again like to thank the local people for their active involvement in the public consultation, which has helped lead us to this decision today."  

 

Along with inpatient planned care, 'Option 1' will also see a Local Accident and Emergency Service (incorporating an Urgent Care Centre) operating at Chase Farm at least 12 hours a day along with a Midwife-led Birthing Unit, a Paediatric Assessment Unit and an Older People's Assessment Unit. Consultant-led maternity services and inpatient children's services will be relocated to Barnet Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital.  

 

The agreed changes will also see significant developments in community care, ensuring that patients across Barnet, Enfield and Haringey have access to the highest quality services as close to their homes as possible.  Many services, which previously meant a visit to hospital, will be available in more local settings such as GPs surgeries.    

 

More than 13,000 people responded to the Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Clinical Strategy Consultation, which ran from 28 June until 19 October, out of which some 4384 chose Option 1, which will also see a Local Accident and Emergency Service (incorporating an Urgent Care Centre) operating at Chase Farm at least 12 hours a day along with a Midwife-led Birthing Unit and a Paediatric Assessment Unit.  

  

ENDS 

  

NOTES TO EDITORS 

 

1.   On 27 November 2007 the BEH Clinical Strategy Project Board recommended 'Option 1' to individual PCTs with the following steps: 

 

•  The establishment of appropriate implementation management arrangements; 

 

•  An independent, clinically-led review to determine which types / volumes of inpatient elective surgery should be accommodated on the Chase Farm site. Key stakeholders including representatives of patients and the public will be involved in this process and decisions will be made on the basis that elective surgery wherever taking place must be safe, deliverable and sustainable; 

 

•  Transfer of Women's and Children's inpatient services from Chase Farm Hospital will take place once the PCTs are satisfied that there is adequate capacity at Barnet Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital; 

 

•  Changes to A&E services at Chase Farm Hospital will take place when the PCTs are satisfied that there is capacity at Barnet Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital and also that community and primary care services would be able to accommodate changes in patient flows; 

 

•  The establishment of a Transport Working Group to make recommendations for change to help address transport issues; 

 

•  That work continues on the EIA Implementation Plan and it becomes an integral part of the implementation process 

  

2.  More than 13,000 people responded to the public consultation on the future of health services in Barnet, Enfield and Haringey (BEH).  An initial analysis, by Imperial College, the organisation taken on by the BEH Clinical Strategy Project to independently assess the results, showed that the 16-week consultation produced 10,274 questionnaire responses from individuals and responses from over 40 organisations.  This response compares favourably to many other similar NHS consultations. 3.  More than 3000 letters/signatories on petitions were received which date from the consultation period and have therefore been taken into account.  Other petitions were received during the consultation period but were completed prior to the consultation and so cannot be taken into account as formal consultation responses. 

 

The executive summary and the main report from Imperial College can be found on http://www.behfuture.nhs.uk/ 

  

4.  For further information please contact Baiba Upmale or Luke Blair at London Communications Agency on 020 7612 8480 or bu@londoncommunications.co.uk, lb@londoncommunications.co.uk