| Epsom Hospital Transaction Halted |
| Written by Communications Team |
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Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Andrew Liles says: “We have been proud to be the preferred partner for Epsom Hospital and have worked hard on developing our plans. We have always believed there would be significant benefits – for patients and staff – in creating a larger foundation trust in this part of Surrey and have invested time and effort into developing these plans. Unfortunately despite our collective hard work, we were unable to develop a financially viable plan for Epsom Hospital as part of our Foundation Trust and this is disappointing. As this process has developed we have continued to look for ways that would enable us to carry on with these plans and did not withdraw from the transaction. We remain committed to taking part in any future discussions which can be held to see if a way forward for Epsom Hospital can be agreed. Throughout this process cooperation and relationships across the hospitals has been excellent and the level of support and encouragement from staff, public and stakeholders has also been very high. We are in no doubt as to the talent, commitment and quality of both staff and services at Epsom Hospital and were looking forward to Epsom joining us.” The issues involved in the decision by NHS London last week to halt the transaction are very complex, but ultimately this is about financial sustainability and the fact that those parties involved have not been able to develop a financially viable plan for Ashford and St Peter’s to include Epsom Hospital in its Foundation Trust. The forecast deficit at Epsom Hospital (estimated to be £13.8m by the end of this year) coupled with the current challenging economic environment for commissioners and reduced financial synergies proposed by Ashford and St Peter’s (reducing expenditure and increasing income) mean the new Trust would not be able to break even within five years. In addition, potential impact from the Better Services Better Value review in South West London could have had an impact on future income streams. |
