James Blythe, Managing Director of Epsom St Helier NHS Trust confirmed that plans for the new emergency care hospital in Sutton and the upgrading of Epsom hospital were currently on hold again – waiting to hear what the impact of the governments review of the hospital programme will have. He was however hopeful that the plans will be able to go ahead on the understanding that the current arrangements are unsustainable.
You can find a link to the recording of the meeting the Society hosted on 17 October here for those of you who were not able to attend.
James Blythe went on to set the strategic context and how Epsom Hospital currently works with St Helier and St George’s Hospitals as part of a Hospital Group. During the discussion it became clear that the current plans did not take account of the new government housing targets for the area.
In introducing himself Chris Rivers, Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Projects at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust explained he was the point of contact for all estate issues. He emphasised the Trust’s commitment to being a good neighbour and was pleased to have the opportunity to hear directly from residents about concerns /issues they had.
During the remainder of the meeting James and Chris fielded a wide range of questions from the floor including the allocation of services between the two sites; accessibility to the hospitals for those with disabilities; car parking and the impact on traffic using the Dorking road; the S2 bus route being impracticably slow; the impact of noise and lighting issues associated with the Langley Wing and lighting levels adjacent to Woodcote Green Road.
James and Chris committed to look into all the issues raised by residents at the meeting and we will post a update as soon as we are able on the follow-actions agreed at the meeting