University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is considering reorganising some of its adult services across Solihull, Good Hope and Heartlands hospitals to improve outcomes and reduce waiting times for patients.
The specific services that the Trust would like to make changes to are trauma and orthopaedics, and gynaecology services.
The proposed changes are not about removing any services or saving money; the Trust is investing £2.5m in its estate to provide high-quality, dedicated facilities, which will support the creation of centres of excellence for the different specialties.
The proposals mainly apply to surgical procedures only (operations) and may mean that patients may need to attend a hospital which is not their local hospital, for their operation. However, while some people may have to travel further for certain treatments, the vast majority would continue to be treated at their local hospital.
It is estimated the proposed changes would affect around 10 patients a day. To put this in perspective, the hospitals see around 1,200 A&E attendances, more than 5,000 outpatients and 500 day case procedures a day.
There would be no proposed changes to where pre- and post-operative outpatient, X-ray, scans and therapy (e.g. physiotherapy) appointments take place – they would still take place at the patient’s local hospital. There will be no changes to children’s services.
The planned reorganisation is supported by a significant number of specialist clinicians (e.g. doctors and nurses) who see these proposals as the best and most sustainable way to deliver care to residents of Birmingham, Solihull and South Staffordshire.
We’ll also be holding two drop-in events on 5 August (Good Hope Hospital) and 6 August (Solihull Hospital) where you can find out more about these proposed changes.
You can book your place here for the Good Hope session and here for the Solihull one.
About Solihull
Solihull Hospital, based near to Solihull town centre, provides a range of outpatient, inpatient and emergency care services for its local community. It is also the regional centre for dermatology (the treatment of skin conditions).
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is also the provider of many community healthcare services for Solihull residents. Community Services in Solihull provide a wide range of care in people’s own homes and in community-based settings such as GP surgeries, community clinics and care homes.
Services include supporting local people to stay healthy and well, such as stop smoking and community dentistry; to pro-active care to support people to stay independent in a community setting, such as ‘virtual’ wards and community nursing. The Community Services teams also provide much-needed support in a crisis. This may be rapid response nursing, hospice at home and intermediate care.
By being a provider of both hospital and community services, Heart of England has the opportunity to shape the way care is provided across traditional boundaries.
The Trust is working with local people and with GPs and colleagues in the local authority and voluntary sector through a newly evolving ‘Integrated Care’ partnership. The aim is to develop services that:
Support patients to stay healthy and well
Provide personalised care in patients’ own homes and community settings
Prevent unplanned admission to hospital and provide rapid access to diagnostic and expert services when needed
Solihull train station is approximately one mile away from the hospital. For more information on train travel please see the links below to help you plan your journey or find out timetables:
Solihull Hospital first opened its doors as a Workhouse in 1839 for the ‘undeserving poor’, including the homeless, sick, aged and those with smallpox and tuberculosis (TB).One hundred years later the circumstances of war turned it into a hospital.
A purpose-built Solihull District General Hospital was opened in 1994.
Two years later Solihull and Heartlands Hospitals merged to create Birmingham Heartlands & Solihull NHS Trust and in April 2005, this became Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
Community healthcare services for the borough transferred to the Heart of England Foundation Trust from Solihull Care Trust in April 2011 under the national Transforming Community Services programme.
