Plans to move Barnsley haematology inpatients to Rotherham to be looked at by councillors
The combined unit, based at Rotherham Hospital, was approved by both hospital trusts earlier this year
Proposals to create a single haematology inpatient unit for Barnsley and Rotherham will return to Barnsley Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee this month, with councillors to examine travel impacts, equality concerns and patient engagement ahead of the service moving in 2026.
The combined unit, based at Rotherham Hospital, was approved by both hospital trusts earlier this year and will bring together all inpatient haematology care for the two boroughs. Outpatient clinics and chemotherapy day treatments will continue to be provided at Barnsley Hospital.
Hospital leaders say concentrating the most complex care on one site will allow the service to meet higher clinical standards, improve patient safety and bring together specialist staff currently split across two sites. The model would also repatriate Barnsley patients who are currently sent to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals for advanced treatment, including those with acute myeloid leukaemia.
The joint service will support a population of around 500,000 and is expected to give more patients access to clinical trials and advanced therapies. In 2023–24, Barnsley recorded 113 inpatient haematology spells, compared with 192 at Rotherham.
Building work to expand the Rotherham unit is due to begin in February 2026 after the project secured national estates funding. Construction is expected to finish by the end of July, with the first Barnsley inpatients scheduled to transfer in August 2026.
The committee previously raised concerns in April about travel pressures for Barnsley patients and their families, and about the level of engagement with those affected. A formal response was requested from the hospital trust, and an updated Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment has now been produced.
The assessment confirms that most patients who need to be admitted will be acutely unwell and will travel by ambulance, meaning the biggest travel impact will fall on families and carers. Patient transport will be available for those eligible. The updated plan also includes a series of actions aimed at supporting lower-income households, increasing communication with families, and improving access to the healthcare travel costs scheme.
Hospital leaders say they are working through a detailed implementation plan covering staffing, IT systems, clinical models, communication, governance and the impact on other services. A number of challenges remain, including recruiting additional nursing and medical staff to support the increased capacity at Rotherham, ensuring consultants can access Barnsley patient records despite the trusts using different IT systems, and maintaining service stability during the transition.
Both trusts say they are taking a joint approach to recruitment and have held several staff engagement events to manage concerns over the pace of change. An early modelling exercise has been used to determine the number of beds required and associated nurse-to-patient ratios.
The scrutiny committee will question senior officials, including Barnsley Hospital’s managing director, on whether enough has been done to address the travel and equality impacts ahead of the move.
The updated equality and quality assessments have been published alongside the report and will be considered by the committee on November 18.