08 Surgery reconfiguration paper 3 Jun 14 12 Surgery Reconfiguration portrait 27 MAY 14 12.1 Surgery Recofiguration Appendix 27 MAY 14

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The response to your query attached.  We have included public committee documents and the press release which we issued.

We have attached three documents which went to our Council of Governors meeting on 27 May (first 2 documents) and Public Board pack for 3 June (3rd document), and are now in the public domain (on our website) that relate to surgery reconfiguration. 

 I have also included below the press release which went out on 3 April and as well as local press was included in GP news bulletins and staff bulletins.

Patients and GPs have their say on reconfiguring surgical services at

Good Hope Hospital

Patients, GPs and other representatives have been voicing their feedback on how Good Hope Hospital will shape its services in the future in a series of meetings held by Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Hospital.

The stakeholder engagement meetings, which will be running for several more weeks, are helping to provide input into Good Hope’s and the Trust’s future plans which are focusing on how best to meet the future needs of local people.

Dr Arne Rose, associate medical director at Good Hope, said healthcare services are always reviewed on a regional basis in order to bring them up to date and in line with NHS national policy and best practice guidelines.

He explained, “National policy on surgery, in particular, is changing, partly to reflect the growing need to create sub-specialties and centres of excellence which will be able to improve the care we provide for surgery patients, and to cut the number of cancelled procedures. We know that it is better and safer for patients when surgical skills are concentrated in one area as it means we can provide a more robust service. This does not mean we are planning to close surgery or our theatres at Good Hope. The Hospital is in good shape to take on the dual role of front-line local hospital and centre of excellence in some surgical specialties, following significant investment over the past two years in facilities for staff and patients and also in new operating theatres and equipment.

“We’ve been meeting local people over the past few months to explain some of the options for change within surgery, and gaining insight into the practical issues that we will need to address to make sure any service developments are positive changes for patients.”

The stakeholder group has an independent chair and members of the group have been recruited to represent the Trust’s wider community, including patients from the Sutton, Heartlands and Solihull areas, GPs, Healthwatch representatives and clinicians working within the Trust. The group will continue to meet whilst detailed proposals are put together, and will then help the Hospital Trust to create a plan to discuss developments more widely within the community once firm proposals have been agreed, as part of an extensive consultation and engagement process.

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