Update on working group following the community beds consultation
October 2024: Update on Working Group for Community Beds and Ambulatory Services Reconfiguration
I am pleased to share an update on progress to set up a working group focused on the future of community hospital beds and ambulatory care services across mid and south Essex.
I am delighted to announce the appointment of James Halden as the Independent Chair of the working group. James brings a wealth of experience in health and social care, along with a strong commitment to ensuring the voices of all stakeholders are heard and considered. His leadership will be pivotal in guiding the group as it works towards reviewing the evidence and feedback for the future configuration of these community services in our region.
Work is currently underway with James to define the scope of the group's activities and develop a clear term of reference. This document will outline the objectives, responsibilities, and timeline for the working group, ensuring a focused and collaborative approach. The term of reference will be shared with all members of the group and available to view on our website in due course.
In our commitment to ensuring inclusive representation, invitations have been sent out to a range of key stakeholders, including:
- Representatives from local authorities
- Healthwatch representatives
- Members of the Save Maldon Medical Services campaign group
- Staff members
We are in the process of confirming membership, ensuring that a diverse range of perspectives will be included in the working group's deliberations.
The aim is to hold the first meeting towards the end of this month which will focus on finalising the scope of work, reviewing the feedback from the consultation process, and setting the agenda for the coming months.
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the working group via our Virtual Views engagement platform. Should you have any questions or need further information at this stage, please do not hesitate to reach out via our get involved inbox
Thank you for your continued support and engagement.
With kind regards
Tom Abell
Chief Executive Officer, Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board
Update from - 18 September 2024
The NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (MSEICB) has announced a six-month delay in the final decision-making regarding the reconfiguration of community hospital beds, a midwife-led birthing unit and ambulatory care services.
The decision follows an extensive public consultation, where valuable feedback was gathered from patients, staff, and the wider community. The delay aims to allow further engagement to ensure the final decision is fully informed and aligns with the needs of the local population.
This additional time will enable the NHS in mid and south Essex to develop comprehensive solutions that address the needs of local communities to enable staff to deliver the best possible care and make the best use of taxpayers money.
To ensure that the final decision reflects a broad range of perspectives, an independently chaired working group will be established to support looking at viable options in detail, including the long-term future of services provided at St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon. This group will include representatives from the NHS, local authorities, community organisations, and key stakeholders.
A special decision-making board meeting was due to be held on 30 September 2024 but will now be postponed enabling the working group to complete its review.
The delay means there will be no immediate changes to the provision of community hospital beds or ambulatory care services. All current services will continue as they are while the engagement process is ongoing.
Terms of reference for the working group are currently being developed.
To keep updated click the 'stay informed' button on this page and subscribe for project updates.
Update on 12 September 2024
Thank you to everyone that provided feedback on the draft public consultation reports. We are now able to share with you the final versions. These final reports incorporate the feedback that you shared with us following the publication of the draft documents.
All the reports can be found in the Public Consultation Feedback Reports on the right hand side of this page.
DRAFT Report information
The draft reports of public feedback gained during the recent NHS consultation led by NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board about proposals for changes to some local community hospital services, has been published.
The feedback from participants has been independently analysed from information gathered during public events, on our Virtual Views engagement platform, from surveys, focus groups and other submissions.
On-line feedback event
An on-line feedback session was held on 18th July at 6.30pm, where people could hear directly from the independent analysts who drafted the report. Participants who registered were able to ask questions directly to the analysts.
Read the draft public consultation feedback report
- Download draft public consultation feedback report DRAFT public consultation report and Appendices for DRAFT report
- View the short presentation video of the public consultation feedback
People who gave feedback were invited to review the reports to make sure they accurately reflected the feedback they provided during the consultation. Feedback was provided directly to independent analysts Stand (by 31 July 2024).
Read the draft report of the public consultation hearing
The public consultation hearings sessions were special events where groups or individuals presented directly to NHS leaders on the issues they thought were important and should be included in the consultation.
People who took part in these events are being contacted directly and invited to check that the public consultation hearing report accurately reflects their presentation at the hearings.
- Download the draft public consultation hearing report here DRAFT hearing report and Appendices for DRAFT hearing report (This document is a PDF portfolio, which is a collection of individual PDFs, and must be opened on a desktop version of Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Public consultation about proposed changes to local community hospital services
We held a public consultation so that local people could give their views on potential changes to:
- the locations where we provide some of our inpatient services for community hospital intermediate care and stroke rehabilitation, and freestanding midwife-led birthing services; and
- the possibility of moving all other patient services at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon to other locations, mostly in and around Maldon.
The proposals were developed by local clinical leaders and other health experts. They have taken into consideration a number of factors to ensure we improve healthcare services in the area.
You can find out more details about the proposals in our consultation document which provides an overview of the more technical Pre-Consultation Business Case.
We have also developed a range of documents to help people understand the proposals which are available in the documents section to the right of this webpage.
All feedback will be collated and independently analysed. A draft report of the findings will be published so people can see what has been said during the consultation.
Dates of consultation
The public consultation ran from 25 January to 11 April 2024. A number of public events were held for people to learn more about the proposals for change, and share their views with us.
Public consultation hearing event
A public consultation hearing was held so that interested individuals, interest groups, stakeholders and organisations could talk directly to local NHS leaders about the public consultation proposals. It was held on Tuesday 19 March 2024, but you can find a recording from the hearing below:
Thank you to everyone who took the time to present evidence.
UPDATE: Online public consultation hearing
We held a further public consultation hearing online on Thursday 4 April between 6pm and 7.40pm so that further evidence could be presented to a panel of NHS experts.
Here's the video recording of the additional public consultation hearing. A huge thank you to the presenters for their time and flexibility in helping us to make this event happen and for the evidence they presented. And thank you for the patience of everyone who was waiting to view this session online, we're sorry technical problems prevented us from streaming the event.
Voluntary and community sector groups
Voluntary and community sector groups ran events and focus groups for service users and carers most likely to be impacted by any proposed changes.
Keep up to date
Findings from feedback giving to us during the consultation will be published as a report in the coming months. We will share the report once it is available. You can keep up to date with our proposals and our other work by following us on social media:
We appreciate the valuable feedback and inquiries we have received from our community throughout this consultation period. Please be advised that we are no longer accepting new questions on our proposals. However, we are naturally still accepting responses to our proposals up to the consultation closure deadline on 11th April at midnight. Following the closure of the consultation then we will thoroughly review and consider all input received before making any decisions. Thank you for your understanding and for your participation in this process.
Thank you for your contribution!
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