Proposals for a Nelson Hospital Local Health Care Centre
Discussions on the future of the Nelson Hospital
have been taking place for many years. Management responsibility for
the project was given to Merton and Sutton PCT.
Plans
A “business case”, allocating a budget of £21m, was approved by the NHS in early 2010 as part of a comprehensive reorganisation of health care in Merton and Sutton. The project was to combine GP and local care services for planned completion by 2013.
The Health Centre was to occupy a new three storey building covering about one third of the present Nelson site. The remainder of the site could have been potentially released for sale and redevelopment.
The overall objective was to provide health care as close as possible to where patients live and reserve hospital visits for treatment that could only be provided in hospital facilities. It was hoped to provide better, more personalised NHS healthcare in improved buildings with the latest technology.
Plans were tested
In mid 2010, the PCT was told to undertake
a 'Stocktake' of all its planned expenditure including the local care
elements of the 'Better Health Care Closer to Home' project. The
Chief Executive of the Sutton and
Merton Primary Care Trust wrote to interested parties . The proposed Local Care Centres (LCC’s) at both the
Nelson and Wilson hospitals are set to go ahead following the stocktake. LCC’s
were seen as a means of saving money and raising
efficiency.
The 2010 White Paper from the Department of Health envisages a fundamental restructuring of health commissioning with the eventual transfer of all Primary Care Trust responsibilities to GP Commissioning consortia. Local accountablility for Health will be transferred to local authorities who will appoint a Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee and a Local Health Watch representative. Local authorities will also be required to integrate NHS services with social care and health promotion.
There is already a Nelson Commissioning Group which includes the Church Lane and Cannon Hill Lane practices.
The Nelson Hospital Reference Group, chaired by Bob Welshman, continues to press for information and dialogue on the 'Better Heathcare Closer to Home' project.
Read about the Plans
Click on this link to read about the Nelson Project.
Context: Implementing the White Paper
The Government's White Paper,
Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS, outlined the Government’s vision for health services. This included giving responsibility for commissioning to GPs, and abolishing PCTs from 2013.NHS Sutton and Merton have said they are committed to working closely with GPs to ensure there is a smooth transition to clinical commissioning. "We are also engaging with local people on the White Paper, and encouraging local people to give their views (on the Government's proposals)." For more details, see: