The Future of Epsom Hospital

We have posed some FAQs to the Chief Executive of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. Please below –

Questions re future of Epsom Hospital

What are the plans for the land at the front of the hospital now that the CCU will be built at Sutton?

We will continue to need the building at the front of the hospital (Headley Wing) until after the Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is opened in 2025. After this we currently do not have a use for the building or the front car park. We will continue to consider future use, and are working with other health care and public sector organisations to evaluate whether they would like to use this land post 2025.

Please would you list the services that will be available at the Epsom site once the new Sutton unit is completed?

Lots of services will be staying put! They include:

  • Urgent Treatment Centre (local A&E) 24/7
  • Outpatients and blood tests
  • Diagnostics including MRI and CT scans
  • Endoscopy
  • Day Surgery
  • Medical infusions / day care
  • SWLEOC (expanded)
  • Inpatient rehabilitation beds including stroke rehab.
  •  

Is Epsom going to be a ‘satellite’ set-up for the Sutton hospital, i.e. provide services at a much reduced capacity, so one day / week at Epsom and 4 days / week at Sutton?

No, each hospital will do very different things. The Sutton Specialist Emergency Care Hospital will do majors A&E, complex emergency medicine, emergency surgery, inpatient paediatric, births and critical care. Epsom and St Helier hospitals will do everything else – I’m sure you will have seen the video our staff did earlier this year, but the link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sRInfMkyE44 . All three hospitals will be open 24/7/365.

Will there be any consultants based at Epsom and available to see patients here on a day-to-day basis? If so, which specialities / clinics?

Yes. Most consultants have jobs where they spend part of their time doing emergency care and part of their time delivering planned care. Simplistically the part of their job that involves emergency care will be spent at the Specialist Emergency Care Hospital and the parts of their job that involve planned care will be delivered at Epsom and St Helier hospitals. So almost all our outpatients and day surgery will be delivered at Epsom and St Helier sites and these services are all led by consultants. There will also be inpatient rehabilitation beds at Epsom Hospital which will have consultant presence as well.

Will telemedicine be used for consultants based at St Helier to advice on the treatment of patients at Epsom?

Our consultants already discuss patients with each other between sites and we are not planning to change this. We are doing more consultations ‘virtually’ in response to COVID but that is predominantly to enable clinicians to talk with patients who are in their homes to avoid them having to come to hospital.

In addition to the orthopaedic centre, will planned surgery involving overnight stays take place at Epsom?

The consultation had all planned surgery involving an overnight stay, other than SWLEOC, taking place at the site of the Specialist Emergency Care Hospital. Day case surgery (which is the vast amount of planned surgery) will continue to take place at Epsom.

Will there be any facilities for children with ‘minor injuries’ or other ‘out of hours’ concerns at Epsom?

Yes. The Urgent Treatment Centre will be able to safely assess and treat the vast majority of children of all ages and it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If the child is too sick for the service we can offer at the Urgent Treatment Centre we will transfer them safely in an ambulance to the dedicated Paediatric A&E which will be at the Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.

Could we have information about the refurbishments to be made to the Epsom estate – both what facilities are planned and a time-scale.

Huge refurbishment of Epsom Hospital continues at pace. As part of our £20 million works to improve energy efficiency and improve comfort levels of patients and staff, construction is well underway on our new energy centre (which will allow us to remove steam powered boilers).Wells Wing (the main ward block) is currently having a new roof installed, new windows put in, exterior walls re-rendered and air-conditioning installed. In autumn, we’re due to extend Langley Wing and rebuild some existing parts, including building a bridge to Wells Wing so vulnerable patients will not have to be wheeled in their beds outside in all weathers, and work to create a new multi-storey car park both will also begin. Our new main entrance is set to be finished in 2021/2.

Just this week, we have been given £6.1 million in additional capital funding to expand our A&E departments. We’ll be investing this money before December so improvements can be made before the worst of winter arrives. At Epsom, this money will be used to expand the waiting area in A&E so people can remain at a social distance even when the department is busy, it will bolster the amount of same-day care we can provide so fewer people need admission while they wait for care, and it will fund better environments for patients with mental health conditions.

Are there any additional specialist services planned for Epsom (e.g. a centre of excellence in a speciality other than orthopaedics)?

Not currently.

What public transport links will be provided between the Epsom and the Sutton Hospital sites?

We are committed to expanding the route, stopping points and frequency of the H1 bus route that links Epsom Hospital to Sutton Hospital.

In light of the COVID-19 experiences, have there been changes to the planned numbers of in-patient beds at the 3 hospitals, both for intensive care and for lower needs nursing?

Yes, we have increased the number of ITU beds from 22 to 30. The CCGs consulted on a model with 1,052 beds and we are now proposing 1,066 beds which is an increase of 14.

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Borough Insight – Keeping you informed – Issue 72: July 2020

https://insight.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/issue-72-july-2020/this-issue/they-think-its-all-over

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Green light for £500m investment for Epsom and St Helier hospitals and brand new specialist hospital in Sutton

Health leaders also pledge more transport and parking, beds and services following public consultation.

More information can be found at this link:

https://improvinghealthcaretogether.org.uk/green-light-for-500m-investment-for-epsom-and-st-helier-hospitals-and-brand-new-specialist-hospital-in-sutton/

NB: Information correct at 3rd July 2020

The “Improving Healthcare Together 2020-2030 website is at https://improvinghealthcaretogether.org.uk/

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Surrey County Council Faces Battle in Bid to Scrap Borough and District Councils

A plan to scrap Surrey County Council, Guildford Borough Council and the 10 other Borough and District councils in Surrey and combine them in a single unitary authority is being promoted by Tim Oliver (Con, Weybridge), leader of Surrey County Council. One opposition councillor claimed it was already a “done deal” following secret negotiations.

https://www.guildford-dragon.com/2020/07/08/surrey-county-council-faces-battle-in-bid-to-scrap-borough-district-councils/

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Application to demolish buildings at Epsom Hospital site

Re  20/00885/DEM | Prior Notification of the proposed demolition of buildings at Epsom General Hospital, including York House, Woodcote Lodge, Rowan House, Beacon Ward, the boiler house and ancillary buildings and structures, under Schedule 2, Part 11, Class B of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) | Epsom General Hospital Dorking Road Epsom Surrey KT18 7EG

The above application has been received by the Borough Council

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Freewheelers Freedom Film Festival – THIS COMING WEEK

The attachment below is a full programme for four nights of Freewheeler films being shown from Tuesday 14th – Friday 17th July, from 7pm on YouTube.


Each evening of films is followed by a Q & A Live on Facebook at about 8pm.

Freewheelers is working online at present and we thought a Film Festival would be a good way to use this freedom to show more people the great work we do, and they don’t have to travel to see it!

Full programme –

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How to become a councillor (County)

What are you passionate about? Perhaps it is providing opportunities for young people, caring for the environment or supporting local businesses to thrive. Whatever needs changing in your local neighbourhood, you could be just the person to do it by becoming a Councillor.

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-committees/how-to-become-a-councillor

Surrey County Council elections are in May 2021.

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Climate Change Action Plan

Earlier this year Epsom & Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) published its cross-party Climate Change Action Plan.

The plan can be found on the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council website and Woodcote Residents’ Society wants the council to be committed to reducing air pollution and improving the environment for all to benefit.  

Public Health England shows the scale of the problem, we need to be serious if we intend to reduce air pollution.  

Health matters: air pollution – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-air-pollution/health-matters-air-pollution

21st January 2020 Last night, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council agreed an ambitious plan to address the negative impact on the environment from activities undertaken within the borough by the council and others in the local community.

As part of the plan the council has adopted a 15 year target to become net carbon neutral.

Link to the announcement:- https://epsom-ewell.gov.uk/news/council-agrees-ambitious-climate-change-action-plan

Link to the Climate Change Action Plan:- https://democracy.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/documents/s15232/Climate%20Change%20Action%20Plan%20Annex%201.pdf

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Residents’ Association County Councillors – We want you!

A strong and independent voice at Surrey County Council

If you care about local issues and you would like to change your community for the better, why not apply to become a local Residents’ Association County Councillor?

Surrey County Council provides services to almost 1.2 million people and we need local representatives who have a broad range of skills and life experience. to ensure that our community receives its fair share of the £1bn net revenue funding it spends annually to deliver vital services and resources. 

Residents’ Association County Councillors at SCC are independent, but work together and currently form the largest opposition group on Surrey County Council. Together our Residents’ Association County Councillors ensure there is a local, strong, rational and independent voice at SCC in challenging the Council’s policies and proposals.

In October 2020 we will be selecting our candidates for the Surrey County Council (SCC) elections taking place in May 2021. Could you be one of them?

Whilst you do not need any special qualifications to be a councillor, the skills and knowledge gained through your professional, personal or community experience, along with your passion to make a difference will help you in your role.

Surrey County Councillors receive a basic annual allowance, and most meetings are held during the day. Your role within the council will determine how much time you spend on council duties. 

If you are looking for a worthwhile and rewarding way to help your local neighbourhood, we would really like to hear from you. Please contact Fred Mowbray Chair Woodcote Residents Association by September 30th to find out more or go to:

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-committees/how-to-become-a-councillor

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Woodcote Ward Councillor update – 3rd June 2020

As from Monday 1st June the Epsom Community Recycle Centre (The Tip) will be accepting a greater range of items.  However they do warn that arrangements may be subject to change, so rather than listing the current arrangements, please check on their website before visiting The Tip (https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/community-recycling-centres/changes-from-1-june-2020#june)

I have been informed by Guild Living (who are the developers for the Epsom Hospital land) that they are about to start some work on the site.  Guild Living have not been granted planning permission for this development and I have checked with the Borough Council planning officer about this work.  She tells me that Guild Living will be undertaking the removal of asbestos and undertaking site surveys to get a better idea of the overall ground conditions.  We do not yet know when the planning application will come to Committee.

A planning application has been validated for the redevelopment of 2 Pine Hill as 2 blocks of flats.  Please see 

http://eplanning.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=Q9HL9JGYHPK00&activeTab=summary

Ref. No: 20/00593/OUT | Received date: Tue 28 Apr 2020 | Status: Pending Consideration | Case Type: Planning Application

There have been several people reporting tics recently and we are at the stage when Oak Processionary
Moth (OPM)
will be a problem.  For more information about Lyme disease from tics and OMP, useful website are –

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Lyme-disease/
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/pest-and-disease-resources/oak-processionary-moth-thaumetopoea-processionea/

While on the topic of our great open spaces, we would ask you to please ensure that you take your rubbish home with you when you are out.  Litter appears to be a national problem at the moment, with our parks and open spaces overrun with it.  All three of your Woodcote Ward Councillors and also Conservators, and we have been spending many hours up on the Downs helping to litter pick in the mornings.  If you would like to join us, let us know and we can get the information to you.  The amounts of litter are staggering. The Downs are used by all age groups for many reasons.  We meet so many responsible people there just enjoying this wonderful facility, such a pity when it is spoilt by others.  We would be grateful if you could mention the problems we are having with litter to all in your families and just remind them to preferably take their rubbish home or at least put it all back in their carrier bags and leave it in or next to the bins.  Please also remember that BBQs are not permitted anywhere on the Downs.

With the easing of lockdown, please keep up to date with what facilities are open by looking at the website, www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/coronavirus

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