DEADLINE EXTENDED – THERE’S MORE TIME TO HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE FUTURE OF HYPER ACUTE STROKE AND CHILDREN’S SURGERY AND ANAESTHESIA SERVICES IN SOUTH YORKSHIRE, BASSETLAW AND NORTH DERBYSHIRE
People living in Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield are being given more time to share their thoughts on proposals to change our region’s hyper acute stroke services, as well as some children’s surgery and anaesthesia services.
The proposals, incorporating public feedback, have been developed by Commissioners Working Together, a partnership of the region’s NHS clinical commissioning groups and NHS England to improve services across South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire - with the consultation being extended until Tuesday 14 February 2017.
Will Cleary-Gray, director of sustainability and transformation for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, said: “Although we took account of the Christmas period in our planning, we can see from our data and from conversations we’ve had, it’s been a very busy period for people. We also know that the proposals have been caught up in conversations about the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP). To make sure as many people as possible are given the opportunity to take part in the consultation and have conversations about the proposals we are therefore extending the deadline until Tuesday 14 February.”
Depending on where people live, some patients have better experiences and access to services than others and have come together to change it. If approved, the proposals would see some services no longer being carried out at Barnsley, Rotherham and Chesterfield Hospitals, with others becoming specialist centres for the whole region.
Dr Peter Anderton, stroke consultant at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals, and regional stroke lead for Commissioners Working Together, said:
“By changing the way you receive care after having a stroke, we can make our services safer and of a higher quality whilst also reducing your chances of living with a disability afterwards.
“At the moment, some of our stroke teams don’t treat as many patients as teams in other hospitals, meaning they have fewer opportunities to develop their skills and introduce new treatments – which could mean that in the future, some of our patients may not get the best care they deserve should they have a stroke. This, combined with a national shortage of specialist staff, means we need to act now and use our staff and facilities in a different way to make sure that everyone in our region has access to the best services and fast treatments after having a stroke.
“For some patients in Barnsley and Rotherham, this may mean being treated in a hospital that isn’t their local one for the first 72 hours – but it also means they will receive high quality specialist care. We have been working with our ambulance service colleagues to ensure all patients will be taken to the most appropriate hyper acute stroke service unit within the critical time needed.
“After the first 72 hours of care, or sooner if medically possible, patients will be transferred to their local stroke ward for the remainder of their care. Rehabilitation services, such as ongoing speech and language therapy, physio and occupational therapies which assist the journey of stroke recovery, will also remain closer to where people live.”
The proposals for children’s surgery and anaesthesia affect some types of surgery when a child needs to be sent to sleep (under general anaesthetic) or they need to stay over-night in hospital.
Dr Tim Moorhead, Sheffield GP, clinical chair and advisor to Commissioners Working Together, said:
“Over the last eighteen months we have been reviewing our children’s surgery and anaesthesia services and are now proposing changes to make sure all children in our region are able to get the best possible and safest care they deserve should they need an operation in one of our local hospitals
“For most services, most of the time, nothing will change but for a small number of operations, at night, at weekends or when children need to stay overnight in hospital, we are proposing they are done differently.
“Across the region, there is only a small number of children needing operations for the services we’re proposing to change, which means our staff aren’t being used in the best way, which, combined with a national shortage of expert staff who are qualified to operate on children, means that in the future, your child may not have access to the high quality care they need.”
Until Tuesday 14 February 2017, members of the public are invited to share their views on the proposed option for the future of these services – with a final decision expected to be made by clinical commissioners in April.
Visit www.smybndccgs.nhs.uk or call 0114 305 4487 for more information.v