The Chief Executive continues to argue for a new build hospital on the Sutton Hospital site, with a lot of services integrated with the Royal Marsden next door. His plans would leave outpatient services and planned care, like that provided by the Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom, but would transfer emergency services to Sutton.
As I have indicated before, I remain sceptical about the viability of the idea and the concept is still very much on the drawing board. If the NHS centrally does decide that this is something that it does want to pursue, I will take soundings locally about what people think before deciding how to respond. But I don’t want to waste everyone’s time, or to raise the ante on the issue, unless and until this becomes a genuinely serious proposal.
In the meantime, Epsom is not one of the hospitals highlighted recently as facing possible service reductions, and the Epsom and St Helier Trust is seen by the NHS as doing a decent job in tackling its financial issues.