he Bolingbroke Hospital consultation has now ended. The consultation was about where best to house the services currently provided at the Bolingbroke Hospital for the next three to five years. You can still visit the website to read updates and a copy of the full consultation document or the summary sheet at www.wandsworth.nhs.uk/bolingbroke.

David Astley, Chief Executive of St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust says “Getting out and talking to patients, stakeholders and the public has been really interesting. There is a great deal of affection for the building and the excellent care patients have received there. But the health service is not in the business of buildings. The quality of care at the Bolingbroke is excellent and deserves the best possible environment.”

Ann Radmore, Chief Executive of Wandsworth Teaching PCT says “Of course part of the issue is the Bolingbroke Hospital cannot be seen in isolation, this is the beginning of a bigger programme of change for Battersea. Wandsworth Teaching PCT is currently developing long term plans for health services in Battersea and north Wandsworth which will mean improvements to a variety of services including GP surgeries, health centres and walk-in centres. We have analysed the health needs of people across the whole patch and are now in the process of planning what services are needed where in this area. We will go out to public consultation on the future of health services in Battersea and north Wandsworth this summer.

“There has been much debate about whether this means building a new community hospital and where that should be. I understand people want to know where services might be and in what buildings, but the discussion must be about which services are needed most and then, where they should be. Traditional services provided from one large building may not be the answer for Battersea given the great variation in need from one ward to another. In simpler terms, what a mum of two on Northcote Road needs in terms of NHS care may not be the same as a 70 year old living on the Doddington Estate. My challenge is how we address this.”

The PCT and St George’s hired an independent organisation, Civil Eyes, to chair and minute all the public and stakeholder meetings during the consultation. Civil Eyes is currently collating and analysing all of the feedback from this consultation, as well as the consultation run by Wandsworth Borough Council, the consultation run by Martin Linton MP for Battersea and the petition organised by the Friends of the Bolingbroke. Their next step is to provide both trusts with an independent report.

The Boards of both Wandsworth Teaching PCT and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will consider and discuss evidence, as well as the independent report, at a joint meeting held in public. Following the joint discussion, both Boards will then make a decision on the consultation.

The date of the meeting is Tuesday 3 July 2007 at 2pm in the Philip Constable Board Room, St George’s Hospital. People are welcome to attend and listen to the discussion. Questions or comments from the public will be addressed in the open space section of the agenda. Questions must be submitted at least 48 hours before the meeting to sandra.notridge@wpct.nhs.uk.

Notes to editors

  1. For more information, contact Maria Vidal, Communications Manager or Sarah Belton, Communications Coordinator, on 020 8682 6835/ 6592 or at maria.vidal@wpct.nhs.uk or sandra.notridge@wpct.nhs.uk
  2. Where possible, please refer to our website, www.wandsworth.nhs.uk as a resource for your readers, listeners or viewers.