Ambitious plans for one of the largest renal services in the UK are unveiled
Kidney care in South West London, Surrey and beyond will be transformed under exciting new plans for a specialist renal unit designed to treat the most seriously ill patients.
The proposed state-of-the-art facility – based at St George’s Hospital in Tooting – will be used by patients who currently receive care at St George’s and St Helier hospitals and will be one of the largest renal services in the UK.
It will help to transform the quality of kidney care in the region by having specialist inpatient care in one place. The local delivery of most outpatient care and dialysis will still occur close to people’s homes with 95% of patients continuing to receive care and treatment in local hospitals, clinics and at home.
NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have now both given the green light for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group to develop more detailed plans. Members of the public, patients and staff are being encouraged to take a look at the proposed designs and have their say, and more information is available here. A planning application for the building will also be submitted to Wandsworth Council in due course.
Dr James Marsh, Group Deputy Chief Executive for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group, said: “Naturally we want to do the very best for our patients, and this new renal unit will help us to do just that.
“People with kidney conditions require expert care, and in our new unit they will receive this from larger teams of specialist staff. There will also be more opportunities for patients to take part in research trials, which could ultimately pave the way for effective treatments.”
High-quality inpatient, outpatient and dialysis facilities will be provided at the unit. This includes inpatient services for people on long-term dialysis, and more complex care for individuals needing specialist surgery, such as a kidney transplant.
Some patients and members of the public have given their views and are supportive of the plans. Nearly three-quarters of all respondents who engaged thought the proposals were either good or very good – and the Kidney Patients Associations of St George’s and St Helier also back the plans.
It’s an exciting time for the hospital group, which has other exciting plans on the horizon – including a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a brand new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Sutton and significantly improve Epsom and St Helier hospitals.
St George’s is also ready to build a state-of-the-art Children’s Cancer Centre, should it win NHS England’s bid to provide children’s cancer services for the region. Currently, it has been providing cancer care for kids for more than 25 years.
Dr Daniel Jones, Consultant Nephrologist and Joint Clinical Lead for the renal development programme at St George’s, said: “We’re very excited to move one step closer to building this unit, which will hugely benefit patients and their families.
“We already provide great care, but this is a brilliant opportunity to improve services further and to ensure we can continue to provide that great care for years to come.”
