Agenda item

Ailsa Willens, Programme Director, NHSE London, Sabahat Hassan, Head of Partnerships and Engagement, NHSE South East, (Virtual) Catherine Croucher, Consultant in Public Health, NHSE London, (Virtual) David Barron, Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning and Health & Justice, NHSE South East and (Virtual) and Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director, NHSE London were in attendance for this item.

1.    Members were provided an overview of the ongoing work on the future location of specialist children’s cancer services in South London and South East England as well as the feedback from the public consultation and engagement activities.

2.    It was noted that children’s cancer services were required to be provided in locations with access to other children’s services and intensive care units to enable joined-up and coordinated care for very ill children. The move was intended to future-proof the care provided as new ‘aggressive’ treatments made the need for access to intensive care and other provisions greater.

3.    A Member asked if the concerns of staff had been taken into consideration and whether TUPE would apply if they were required to transfer to the new site. Ms Willens advised that staff had been consulted throughout the process and the impact of the change had been taken into account. Most staff would be eligible for TUPE. 

4.    Ms Willens said last year there had been 35 transfers to a hospital site with a paediatric intensive-care unit (PICU), though only 15 went on to require that care.

5.    A Member asked what consideration had been given to parents' feedback in an online petition. Ms Willens said they had been engaged and that some of the parents were members of a stakeholder group. The feedback would be taken into account in the final decision-making business case.

6.    Members discussed the accessibility and cost of travelling to the service, wherever it was located.

·         an integrated impact assessment had been undertaken which considered journey time and cost.

·         St Georges and Evelina sites were accessible by public transport but most parents chose to travel by car due to the risk of infection on public transport.

·         service users were supported with reimbursements for costs incurred and the NHS Trust would support families in accessing that. Support was not available unless the patient was in the car.

·         Members asked what options were available around pre-loaded cards for public transport, so parents did not have to navigate reimbursement processes.

·         The support available needed to be publicised effectively.

The Committee wanted to engage with

·         Transport for London (TFL) to ensure that the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) charges and others would not apply or that reimbursement was available to affected families.

·         travel providers on the provision of concessions and travel passes.

7.    There was concern about the capacity of the Evelina site to host the service. Ms Willens said that the Hospital had plans to reorganise its services and make use of vacant spaces to house the children’s cancer services if successful. Much work and planning had been undertaken by both Trusts and a business case proposal would need to be developed with more details on the reconfiguration for whichever Trust was successful.

8.    Ms Willens said a public document would be published setting out how the feedback received was incorporated into the final plans.

9.    RESOLVED the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee note the report.