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Hello all,
In August we received the reports from two CQC assessments that took place in 2024. We also launched our winter plan with staff and shared with our teams the good news around our new Redhill CDC. We also held our Annual General Meeting and published our Annual Report for 2024/25.
Our services
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CQC
This month the CQC published their report on Crawley Hospital Outpatients Department and the Medical Inpatient services at East Surrey Hospital – the former was visited in November 2024 and the latter in September 2024. For Medical Inpatient services at East Surrey Hospital, while the CQC recognised that our inpatient services continue to be caring, responsive and effective for patients - with our teams providing kind and compassionate care, with a clear vision for the future – the CQC changed the overall rating for our medicine inpatient service and East Surrey Hospital – both of which have moved from 'Outstanding' to 'Requires Improvement'. Our overall Trust rating has remained 'Outstanding'. The Trust aspires to be an outstanding organisation across all its sites with services that patients feel safe and confident in. While we are disappointed to hear the outcome of the report and its impact on our overall rating for East Surrey Hospital, especially after such a busy and challenging year, since this inspection took place last September the hospital has already undergone substantial change. Many of the improvements raised by the CQC were in progress at the time of inspection and have been further embedded in the 12 months since. We have significantly strengthened our governance processes, launched a new 24/7 Freedom to Speak Up Service, and are now improving safety outcomes, stabilising staffing in key areas and enhancing our medicines safety policies and procedures. We recognise we have more to do to ensure patients can feel the impact of the positive changes we are making, but our teams are dedicated to patient care and continuous improvement, and this report will help us focus our efforts on making the immediate and long-term improvements that will deliver for our patients. For the Crawley Hospital Outpatients report, overall the CQC rated the department as ‘Good’ in all areas. They found that staff were kind and caring towards service users and that local leaders were capable, visible and supported staff. Patients who used the service were positive about the quality of the care and treatment they received, reporting they were well cared for and that staff were friendly.
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Winter plan launch This month the Trust launched its 2025/26 Winter Plan to support our teams to prepare for the busy winter period ahead. We have been working hard over the summer to prepare a plan that builds on our learning from last year and focuses on evidenced-based actions - to put us on the best footing possible given the much higher demand for our services and higher levels of illness and infection during winter months.
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Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) in Redhill Our plans for a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill are continuing to progress as work on the build nears completion next month. We hope to be welcoming our first patients as soon after that as we can, which is really exciting. The new centre, funded by NHS England, will increase local access to diagnostic testing and reduce waiting times – helping tens of thousands of local patients get vital tests sooner, without having to attend hospital. It builds on the Trust’s existing community diagnostics services at Crawley Hospital, which has delivered over 173,700 tests and checks since launching in April 2023.
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Annual General Meeting
The Trust’s held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 19 August at East Surrey Hospital. It was an opportunity for staff, partners and members of the public to find out more about our reflections of the last year as a Trust – our highlights and challenges – and our plans for the future. We shared some of our clinical success stories in areas where we have seen real progress such as frailty and endoscopy, and the digital and SASH + improvements we have made to improve patient safety over the last year. We also published our Annual Report for 2024/25.
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Cancer and Diagnostics (C&D) changing to Core Clinical Services (CCS). The Trust recently agreed a change in name for the Cancer and Diagnostics division, who will now be known as Core Clinical Services (CCS). This is to reflect the diversity of services provided by the division, that now reaches far beyond cancer and diagnostics - covering pharmacy, therapies, elective access, and outpatients. The new name for the division also references the integral nature of their services to the safe running of the hospital. Finally, as I handover to our new Chief Executive Andrew Hines today, I will also be preparing to retire from my role as Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of SASH. I am very proud to have been part of the SASH team for the last 18 years, and I am so grateful to have worked with so many brilliant colleagues throughout. It’s been an incredible journey, and I know that Andrew will do a great job in taking the Trust forward into the next chapter.
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Best wishes,
Paul Simpson Acting Chief Executive
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