Specialist healthcare services could be split up between Gloucestershire's two main hospitals
It's part of a vision laid out by local NHS bosses to transform the delivery of services in the county
Specialist healthcare services in Gloucestershire could be split between the county's two main hospital sites under new plans.
The proposals are part of Gloucestershire’s NHS chiefs’ plans to reorganise some services in the county’s two main hospitals: Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General.
The vision would see the two hospitals created as “centres of excellence” to deliver different care services under a project called ‘Fit For The Future’.
Services such as general surgery would be reorganised, with emergency patients going to Gloucestershire Royal while patients who book an appointment would go to Cheltenham General.
The local NHS said its vision does not include any proposal to close Cheltenham’s A&E department or change its pre-pandemic opening hours.
The ‘Fit For The Future’ consultation has been put forward by Gloucestershire’s NHS chiefs to ask the public for feedback on the future of specialist services, and was proposed before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Residents and NHS staff were previously asked on what changes they would like to see and the new consultation, which launches later this week, will put forward those potential changes for a second round of discussion.
According to an NHS document, the health service said “too many operations are being cancelled that don’t need to be” and it does not have “the staff to stretch” across the two hospital sites.
It is now proposing to put the changes to the public as it aims to reduce waiting times, improve health outcomes for patients and “make sure patients are always assessed by the right hospital specialist”.
The consultation will run from October 22 to December 17, 2020.
An independently run online Citizens’ Jury will be held in January 2021 to consider feedback and make recommendations, and then a final decision will be made by NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group by March.
Medical Director at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Mark Pietroni, said:
“In Gloucestershire we are aiming high. We want local people and their families to have access to the very best healthcare.
“We are very fortunate in Gloucestershire. We have two large hospital sites that offer us a fantastic opportunity to provide care and services that are amongst the best in England.
“The feedback from staff and public engagement showed there is support to continue to develop a ‘centres of excellence’ approach, which reflects the way a number of inpatient services are already concentrated in one place, such as cancer care in Cheltenham and children’s services in Gloucester.
“For our hospitals, we want to see two thriving, vibrant sites with strong identities and both providing world class, leading edge treatment.”
Urgent care lead at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and local GP, Dr Jeremy Welch, said:
“There is a real ambition in Gloucestershire to deliver truly outstanding care at the county’s two large hospital sites and this consultation is an opportunity to feedback on the options put forward for a number of services.
“We would urge local people and staff to get involved in this important consultation from October 22 and ensure Gloucestershire hospitals are well placed to face future challenges and seize the exciting opportunities that exist for local services.”
Here are the services they want to hear feedback on
- Acute Medicine
- Gastroenterology inpatient services (medical care for stomach, pancreas, bowel or liver problems)
- General surgery (conditions relating to the gut)
- Image guided interventional surgery (where surgeons use instruments with live images to guide the surgery including following a heart attack, trauma and cancer)
- Trauma and orthopaedic inpatient services (diagnosis and treatment of conditions relating to the bones and joints)
Here's how you can have your say
From 22 October, members of the public, community partners and staff can visit www.onegloucestershire.net/yoursay or email: glccg.participation@nhs.net to request information.
If they can’t get on the internet or use email, the NHS can also send people information or arrange a telephone conversation – call 0800 0151 548 to leave a message.
On the website, consultees will find the full consultation booklet (and survey), the summary and easy read versions and other supporting information.
There will also be links to the new online consultation space at: https://getinvolved.glos.nhs.uk where people can get involved in activities like discussion forums.