Response to media coverage about the south west London STP
A spokesperson for the NHS in south west London said:
“There are no proposals to close any hospital in south west London. We are suggesting our hospitals will need to work differently, with more clinical networking and possibly one less hospital providing acute services such as A&E, obstetrics and specialist paediatrics. But nor have we ruled out retaining these services in all five hospitals. Our plans are still in development and will be subject to much wider discussion – and formal public consultation should we develop firm proposals to change acute hospital services.”
“The whole of the NHS in south west London has been working together and with local councils to develop a long term plan that will:
- use our money and staff differently to build services around the needs of patients
- invest in more and better services in local communities
- invest in our estates to bring them up to scratch
- try to bring all services up to the standard of the best.
“We have been talking to local people about these issues for several years. Last year, we published an ‘issues paper’ setting out all the challenges and invited people to respond; a large scale meeting took place in each borough and we received substantial feedback. We have written to over 1600 local organisations at every stage of the STP process, setting out our latest thinking. And we have plans for further local events over the next few months, where people will have a further opportunity to discuss and influence our plans.”
