Patients of the St Peter’s Hospital sexual health unit clashed with organisers at a meeting discussing the service’s proposed closure.
The Blanche Heriot Unit (BHU), which served more than 15,000 patients in 2016, is due to close at the end of September 2017.
Around 50 people attended the meeting on Wednesday August 9 and listened to presentations from the Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH) and the new sexual health provider – the Central North West London NHS Trust (CNWL).
In 2016 Surrey County Council (SCC) and NHS England undertook a procurement exercise to provide a single integrated sexual health and HIV service. During this process, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals (ASPH) decided it was unable to bid to retain the service and the contract was awarded to Central North West London NHS Trust (CNWL).
Suzanne Rankin, chief executive of ASPH, told attendees: “The Blanche Heriot Unit is a building, moving the service is not the same as closing the Blanche Heriot Unit.”
However, during a question and answer session after the presentation, one patient said: “You are absolutely wrong to say that the Blanche Heriot Unit is a building – the Blanche Heriot Unit is a group of people, I walk in and people know me – it is special.”
Both ASPH and CNWL were repeatedly asked why the sexual health service could not remain at St Peter’s Hospital under the new provider.
Answering these questions, Dr Mark Maguire, service director at CNWL, said: “We have to provide the service with 25% cuts, when we looked at the service space it doesn’t make financial sense, we have tried to provide a similar service in a different way.
“We have to think about everybody in Surrey, obviously that is not going to be convenient for everybody.”
England undertook a procurement exercise to provide a single integrated sexual health and HIV service.
During this process, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals (ASPH) decided it was unable to bid to retain the service and the contract was awarded to Central North West London NHS Trust (CNWL).
Suzanne Rankin, chief executive of ASPH, told attendees: “The Blanche Heriot Unit is a building, moving the service is not the same as closing the Blanche Heriot Unit.”
However, during a question and answer session after the presentation, one patient said: “You are absolutely wrong to say that the Blanche Heriot Unit is a building – the Blanche Heriot Unit is a group of people, I walk in and people know me – it is special.”
Full story in Get Surrey, 24 August 2017