Update - Barnet Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy

Last updated 5-Mar-09 12:27

The Project Board for the Barnet Enfield and Haringey clinical strategy today confirmed the next steps in the process that is being used to discuss local health issues with the people of Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and southern Hertfordshire.

After receiving a report on the meetings of the Clinical and Public & Patient Engagement Groups, and considering the feedback from both of the groups, the Project Board decided on a shortlist of four scenarios from the original ten. These four scenarios will be developed in more detail and compared with what we have now.

When making its decision the Project Board noted that both groups recognised that there is a need for change, as both groups ruled out "no change" as a potential scenario.

Once developed in more detail these four scenarios will be discussed by a Citizens' Jury of 100 people at a deliberative event on 10th November. The members of the Citizen's Jury will be selected at random by an independent organisation to ensure a representative cross section of the population covered is achieved. The process of forming the Citizens' Jury will involve 10,000 people being contacted across the area.

Members of the Clinical Engagement Group and the Public and Patient Engagement Group will be present at the Citizens' Jury, and we will also be extending an invitation to members of the media and local elected representatives to observe the deliberations.

The Citizens' Jury will put forward to the Project Board the scenarios that it believes meet the criteria and are therefore potentially viable options for the formal public consultation, which will begin in January 2007.

People who are not selected to become part of the Citizens' Jury, along with anyone else who wishes to make comments, will still be able to input into this process via an innovative on line deliberative process. This will ensure that as many people as possible will be able to have a say even before we start to consult formally in January.

People who would like to take part in the on line process should from Monday 9^th October go to:www.behfuture.nhs.uk

The Project Board agreed with the feedback from the groups that more information is required to set out what community options would be available in the future. Possible community options include:

· The extending of the role of Community Hospitals and Primary Care Centres, such as Edgware, Potters Bar, St Anne's, Finchley, St Michael's, Forest Road and Edmonton Green Primary Care Centres

· Future development of new Primary Care Centres

· Extending services at GP practices

· The introduction of new services and roles, such as Community Matrons.

These community options will be developed and considered by the next meeting of the Public & Patient and Clinical groups.

It is also important to note that for each of the four short listed scenarios the implications for primary and community services will be specifically considered.

The four scenarios that have been short listed by the Project Board are:

Scenario 3: Three District General hospitals with centralised women & children's services

Services at Chase Farm Hospital would stay as they are now, except for women and children's services.

§ Inpatient women and children's services would transfer to Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals;

§ Chase Farm would have a non-inpatient Paediatric Unit

§ Chase Farm would have a midwife led birthing unit

Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals would provide the same services that they do now, but Barnet would be adapted to allow the transfer of women's and children's services, and North Middlesex would be redeveloped to increase its women and children's capacity.

Scenario 4: Planned and Emergency split, with Barnet and North Middlesex as emergency centres

Chase Farm Hospital would become a centre for planned surgery (both day surgery and inpatient surgery) and provide an emergency care centre for walk in patients.

§ Planned inpatient surgery would transfer to Chase Farm from Barnet and North Middlesex

§ Certain 'minor' emergencies referred by GPs or the London Ambulance Service, would be directly admitted to Chase Farm Hospital.

§ Chase Farm Hospital would be redeveloped with the appropriate facilities for these changes, including the development of a centre for cancer services and minimally invasive surgery

§ Emergency medicine, emergency inpatient surgery and inpatient women & children's services would be centralised at Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals.

§ Barnet Hospital would be adapted to accommodate more emergency activity

§ North Middlesex would be redeveloped to accommodate more emergency activity

§ The London Ambulance Service would reconfigure and strengthen its services to respond to the changes

Scenario 7: Chase Farm Hospital becomes a Community Hospital; Barnet and North Middlesex hospitals provide all other services

Chase Farm Hospital would become a Community Hospital with an emergency care centre for walk in patients. and day care and outpatient services (similar to Edgware Community Hospital).

§ The Chase Farm Hospital would be adapted with appropriate facilities for the services it would provide, with only very minor changes needed

§ Emergency and planned inpatient services would be centralised at Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals, including inpatient women and children's services.

§ Barnet Hospital would be adapted to accommodate this extra activity

§ North Middlesex would be redeveloped to accommodate this extra activity

§ The London Ambulance Service would reconfigure and strengthen its services to respond to the changes

Scenario 8: Chase Farm Hospital closes as an acute site; Barnet and North Middlesex hospitals provide all acute services

Chase Farm Hospital would close as an acute hospital.

§ Mental health services and existing community services would remain on the site.

§ A new, multi-professional primary care centre would be provided on the Chase Farm site

§ All acute services would transfer to Barnet and North Middlesex Hospitals.

§ Barnet Hospital would need significant redevelopment

§ North Middlesex Hospital would need a larger redevelopment

§ The London Ambulance Service would reconfigure and strengthen its services to respond to the changes

Women's and children's services would be affected under all four scenarios. This is to enable the case for change to be tested and does not pre-empt the development of the final options for formal public consultation.

The appraisal criteria are:

Clinical viability and safety
Accessibility
Affordability / best use of resources
Sustainability
Deliverability

-ends-

Project Board Representatives:

The Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy involves the following NHS Organisations: Barnet PCT, Enfield PCT, Haringey PCT, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital Trust, The Whittington Hospital Trust, Royal Free Hampstead Trust and the London Ambulance Service. Council representatives from: Hertfordshire, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey.

Patient and Public Engagement Group Representatives:

Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Hertsmere and Broxbourne Councils

Disability groups from Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

Older People's groups from Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

Black and ethnic minority groups from Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

Voluntary Action Groups: Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

Local community groups: Save Chase Farm, HAVCO

Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Maternity Services Liaison Committee

Patient Forum representatives from: North Middlesex Hospital, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust, Enfield Primary Care Trust, Haringey Primary Care Trust and Barnet Primary Care Trust.

Clinical Engagement Group Representatives

Doctors, nurses and other clinicians from:

North Middlesex University Hospital

The Whittington Hospital

Royal Free Hospital

Haringey Primary Care Trust

Barnet Primary Care Trust

Enfield Primary Care Trust

Hertsmere Primary Care Trust

S.E. Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust

London Ambulance Service

For further information please contact: