Last year we reported on how you could have your say on your experiences of hospital services in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw as part of a review of those services.
The results of this review have now been published in a 180 page document, which can be viewed here, offering a detailed look at how hospital services in our area are delivered, used and how they may change in the future.
The South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (SYB) region is in the process of becoming one of the first Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in England. Integrated Care Systems encourage shared working between hospitals and a move away from all hospitals offering all services. Concerns that the move towards an Integrated Care System could result in the closure of a number of local hospitals were alleviated with the report recommending that all seven hospitals in the region remain open.
The report offers a large number of recommendations, with a focus on re-configuring services and exploring the opportunities to provide services outside of acute hospital settings.
Hospitals in our area will be encouraged to provide “networks of care,” with each focusing on a specific area of care, rather than all hospitals providing all services as they currently do. This may cause concerns for disabled patients, as they may be expected to travel much further to receive the care they currently receive, if the “network of care” they are a part of is moved to a different hospital.
The recommendation to provide longer stay treatment of children in fewer hospitals as well as the recommendation that a reduction in the number of inpatient children’s units should be considered, may also cause concern for parents of disabled children, or parents with a disability, as they may also be expected to travel much further than they currently do to receive the same treatment.
You can find more information on the report, along with associated documents on the Report on the future of hospital services website.
