Building Your Future Hospitals

Progress over the last year

Over the last year, Building Your Future Hospitals (BYFH) has been looking at the hospital designs again, to bring them in line with Hospital 2.0 – the national hospital blueprint set out by the Government’s New Hospital Programme – and to respond to the previous feedback we received from the local community.

Additionally a series of enabling projects at both Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital have also been completed to transform old buildings and invest in new infrastructure and facilities including installing new lifts and innovative equipment such as nuclear scanners. Our plans have been developed following extensive engagement and consultation over many years.

Story so far

• July 2017: Comprehensive engagement programme about the long-term future of the Trust’s healthcare services (Epsom and St Helier 2020-2030) is launched.
• January 2018: Merton, Sutton and Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Groups agree to form and approve the structure of Improving Healthcare Together programme (IHT).
• June 2018: As part of the IHT Programme the three CCGs met as “Committees in Common”. IHT launch a series of public events to seek feedback on plans to build a new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.
• January-April 2020: Formal consultation with members of the public.
• July 2020: Following extensive public consultation, the three CCGs met in common and approved plans to build a brand new, state of the art hospital in Sutton and modernise buildings at Epsom and St Helier. The Trust took ownership of the delivery of the outcome of consultation, launching the Building Your Future Hospitals programme. Work began to create an Outline Business Case (OBC).
• May 2021: NHS England/NHS Improvement and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) Joint Investment Committee considers the Outline Business Case for the project. The Trust is required to resubmit plans for embedding New Hospital Programme (NHP) commercial approach and design standardisation.
• July 2021: Pre-planning engagement with more than 4,500 brochures sent to local residents, an online survey, three online webinars, and over 3,500 visits to the dedicated engagement website.
• October 2021: NHP pause second round of pre-planning engagement and the planning submission which was intended for Jan 22. Design team completely paused from June 22 waiting on NHP process update.
• May 2023: Secretary of State confirms BYFH will be fully funded and completed by 2030. Gesh Group Strategy published strengthening our commitment to building a Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Sutton. Release of Hospital 2.0, the Government’s standardised design which will benefit patients and staff through digital solutions and an optimised hospital layout.
• June 2023- June 2024: The Trust has been revising the designs of the hospital to make sure they are line with Hospital 2.0, the Government’s standardised design.

 

We need to change the way we provide care for three key reasons:

Quality of care

Our workforce is stretched. Our staff run duplicate services across two sites which makes nursing and medical rotas hard to fill and clinical guidelines on nursing and consultant levels hard to achieve. For example, we struggle to meet the workforce standard to have 24/7 consultant cover on current sites and we have vacancies that we cannot fill across consultant, junior doctor and nurse posts.

Our current hospital buildings are not fit for purpose

Every year, we invest millions to address our most urgent estates challenges, while also improving our buildings, facilities, equipment and environment for our patients and staff. But the fact is that most of our old buildings are older than the NHS itself. This hampers the quality of care our staff can provide as they deal with challenges ranging from damp mould; to difficulties maintaining a steady temperature across the seasons; to floods and leaking roofs.

The cost

As a Trust, we are not financially sustainable and we know that our deficit at the end of the financial year (April 2024) was c.£55m. We currently spend more than we receive in funding and expect this to continue unless we change the way we deliver care.

 

The SECH will provide modern medical facilities for the delivery of high quality health care now and in the future.

Key benefits for patients

• The district hospital model will keep the majority of services local

• Larger, specialist teams of staff and specialist equipment will mean quicker diagnosis, less time spent in hospital and reduced chances of being readmitted.

• Single rooms will provide privacy and space to recover, as well as reduce the spread of infection
• Green and garden spaces will provide a calming, welcoming environment and boost recovery.

Key benefits for staff

• Modern facilities will help facilitate high quality healthcare and provide better working conditions

• Overcome long term staffing issues and reduce the use of bank and agency staff by decreasing workloads, reducing sickness, stress, tiredness, and absence rates for the existing workforce

• Improve training opportunities for junior clinicians and provide a wide range of career opportunities for all clinicians.

Improving our existing estates

• We'll be able to reconfigure and make best use our existing estates to deliver even more joined-up care for local people

• Once services move to the SECH, we'll be able to dispose of the worst parts of our estate and retain those buildings that are in good condition

• We may use vacated space to provide additional community beds, additional primary care accommodation, a new ambulance station, and additional children’s and adults mental health services

The Sutton Hospital site, where the SECH will be located, currently contains outdated and unused hospital buildings and a car park.

Why Sutton?

The location for the SECH was selected after extensive testing of alternatives and conducting engagement with Sutton Council, staff, patients and the public during the Improving Healthcare Together consultation. Considering all the evidence, in July 2020 a joint decision by NHS Surrey Downs and NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group approved the proposed new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (SECH) on the Sutton Hospital site.

The right location

Located between Epsom and St Helier hospitals, the SECH will be central to the catchment we serve and has the least overall impact on travel for older people and people from deprived communities.

Less disruption

As a new-build on an unused site, development in Sutton will be quicker and much less disruptive to our patients and staff – as well as resulting in three, rather
than two urgent treatment centres.

Bringing together 24/7 services

The SECH will house six core services in one place, making it easier to care for the most unwell patients and those who need more specialist care.

Co-location

By sharing a site with the Royal Marsden we can share services and infrastructure. We’ll also be able to bring together the clinical expertise of dozens of surgeons, anaesthetists and other professionals to ensure the very best outcomes for patients.

A partnership approach

Working with The Royal Marsden

The Royal Marsden offers cancer services like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Currently The Royal Marsden relies on Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to provide critical care to some patients. By being located in close proximity, the SECH will be able to support The Royal Marsden with theatre capacity and critical care access, reducing the need for cancer patients to travel. By working together, we can offer new opportunities for the range of cancer care that can be provided at Sutton.

The London Cancer Hub

The Royal Marsden already shares a site with the Institute of Cancer Research, the Harris Academy and Maggie’s Cancer Care which are the foundations of the London Cancer Hub (LCH).

Together, The Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research are one of the top five cancer centres globally and provide world-class cancer research and treatment. Locally, there is an aim to further develop this partnership and build a leading cancer hub, with a greater role for life sciences companies.

Aviva and Socius have been selected by Sutton Council as the preferred developer for the wider LCH masterplan. This will involve the development of facilities dedicated to the research and treatment of cancer, to attract the brightest minds from around the world and provide amenities for the wider community.

By having on-site links with LCH, we will support the development of surgical research through partnerships with world class researchers and private enterprise. LCH will bring together the clinical expertise of dozens of surgeons, anaesthetists and other oncology professionals to ensure the very best outcomes for oncology patients in SWL and Surrey

Sutton Hospital Site map

In an emergency, bypassing a local hospital and heading straight to a specialist trauma or stroke centre saves more lives. Bringing acute services together at the SECH in modern facilities will improve quality and outcomes for our patients and strengthen staffing. It will also ensure the majority of services stay local, with care delivered as close to people’s homes as possible.

Specialist Care Services

We will bring together on one site the six core (major) services for the most unwell patients and those who need more specialist care.

Investing in a new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital

The SECH will house six core services for the most unwell patients and those who need more specialist care:

A major emergency department – for the sickest patients with life threatening conditions, including a specialist children’s Emergency Department

Acute medicine – for patients with the most urgent medical needs

Critical care – for the specialist care of patients with life threatening conditions Emergency surgery – for emergency surgical assessment, treatment and operations

Emergency surgery – for emergency surgical assessment, treatment and operations

Births – bringing together a midwife-led unit and a consultant-delivered unit, a well as supporting home births

In-patient paediatrics or children’s beds – for children who need to stay overnight in hospital for treatment or observation

 

District hospital services

Epsom and St Helier hospitals would continue providing these district hospital services.

Delivering care closer to home

• District hospital model – to support people who do not require acute services but who still need some medical intervention.
• 85% of services will stay at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals – including day case surgery, outpatients, ante/ post-natal clinics, chemotherapy, dialysis, endoscopy and diagnostic imaging.
• Sub-acute beds – for inpatients who have already completed acute treatment but still require rehabilitation therapy.

Urgent treatment centres

• 24/7 urgent treatment centres and beds for medically stable inpatients – at both Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital.
• District beds – for ‘stepping down’ from high acuity services, ‘stepping up’ from the community, those directly admitted via an urgent treatment centre(s).
• Support for clinicians working in the community and primary care – to enable diagnoses, manage long-term conditions, undertake planned care and provide rehabilitation.

The design for the SECH has evolved through close working with our doctors, nurses and hospital staff, to ensure that the new facilities meet the needs of both patients and staff.

A place for the whole community – with welcoming entrances, spaces to relax and a green plaza.

Easy to navigate – so people can easily find their way and staff benefit from better lines of sight to check on patients.

Better connected – the layout, with its central entrance and closely connected clinical departments, will mean less time is spent travelling around the hospital.

A cleaner, greener hospital – the SECH will be a highly sustainable hospital that supports the NHS commitment to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

 

Departments and services that will be provided in the SECH

Emergency Department (including Adult and Paediatrics) – acute assessment unit, paediatric assessment unit, same day emergency care (SDEC) bays.

Diagnostic imaging / radiology – interventional radiology and cardiac cath lab suite cabins.

Operating theatres / Critical care – neonatal intensive care unit beds, Intensive care unit.

Adult and paediatric inpatients – adult in patient beds.

Maternity unit, neonatal intensive care unit and paediatric day unit – maternity delivery beds, maternity ward, paediatric ward, paediatric day beds.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Services (Ward and Theatres) – cancer ward (service managed by The Royal Marsden).

Supported by – pharmacy, pathology, facilities management, and non-clinical support (includes offices, staff welfare).

 

We will maximise the green spaces outside of the hospital to create a calm environment that supports health and well-being, and aids recovery for our patients.

We want to ensure that the green spaces and landscaping aid recovery to provide a welcoming and calming experience for those receiving treatment or our staff working in the hospital.

Green gardens and public spaces

The garden and public spaces, located at each end of the hospital, will be carefully designed to provide patients, staff and visitors with places to relax and allow for moments of calm and reflection.

The garden adjacent to Cotswold Road will act as a calming buffer between the road and the SECH, drawing inspiration from the character of the Maggie's gardens already on the site.

New trees and planting

We’ll be able to plant new trees across the site as well as introduce extensive planting.