Healthy Futures implementation update

Healthy Futures continues to deliver the service changes approved by the Secretary of State and Independent Reconfiguration Panel in 2007.

The Healthy Futures Delivery Unit is implementing its next phase of services changes in-line with its timetable.

These changes involve Rochdale Infirmary, Fairfield Hospital Bury, North Manchester General Hospital and the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Sir Jonathan Asbridge Programme Director said:“The Healthy Futures programme boasts a very high level of clinical and patient involvement throughout the consultation and delivery process. The next phase of the implementation sees a range of centralisation of hospital services to enable Pennine Acute Hospital Trust to provide local people with the very best of treatment and care.”

The Healthy Futures programme like every existing NHS reconfiguration programme in the country is currently subject to a review by local commissioners of evidence against four national reconfiguration tests to ensure all planned service changes meet the Department of Health new guidelines and as part of this the programme is undergoing a National Clinical Advisory Team (NCAT) review.

The local commissioners will submit evidence to the NHS North West and in turn NHS North West is required to report the outcome of their assessment to the Secretary of State at the end of October.

NHS North West has previously clarified with Department of Health that for advanced schemes reaching key decision points, local agreement with the SHA will be needed as to whether schemes need to continue the implementation of planned service changes (for example, to avoid incurring significant costs/financial penalties or because of significant time sensitive interdependencies), whilst running an application of the tests in parallel. NHS North West has agreed in this context that it is appropriate for Healthy Futures to continue implementing the changes, whilst the tests are applied in parallel.

Sir Asbridge added: “Between November 2010 and March 2011, we will be moving a number of key services to continue the implementations of the Healthy Futures programme as approved by the Secretary of State and the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. All these moves are in-line with the Healthy Futures timetable published in 2009. These changes will involve the:

• Centralisation of inpatient Vascular Services to the Royal Oldham Hospital

• Transfer of Acute Surgery from Rochdale Infirmary to the Royal Oldham

• Planned Day Case Surgery from the Royal Oldham to Rochdale Infirmary

• Transfer of Acute Surgery from Fairfield General Hospital to North Manchester General Hospital

• Planned Surgery from North Manchester General Hospital to Fairfield Hospital Bury

• Centralisation of inpatient Breast Services to North Manchester General Hospital

• Emergency orthopaedics from Fairfield General Hospital to North Manchester General Hospital

• Transfer of Electives orthopaedics from North Manchester General Hospital to Fairfield General Hospital

Dr Ruth Jameson Medical Director Pennine Acute Hospital Trust said:“Maintaining clinics at a number of hospital sites with limited resources is not in the best interest of patients; people want and deserve to be treated by doctors that specialise in their particular need not one that has limited experience in that area. With these changes we will be able to ensure that all our patients receive the very best of treatment and care, these changes will deliver improved outcomes for our local population”