Hello all, 

It’s been an incredibly busy start to the year for the Trust with increased and sustained levels of winter demand across our emergency care services, as well as rising winter infections. This month however I am pleased to share that we have opened our new Community Diagnostic Centre in Redhill, launched a new Citizens Advice service for our staff, and appointed our new Chief Nurse.

Our services

Managing winter demand 

Firstly, a huge thank you to all our teams who have gone above and beyond to keep our patients safe over the last two months when our services have been under a significant level of pressure. Due to the sustained nature of the demand, more high acuity patients needing admission, and challenges discharging patients who were medically able home or to onward care, similar other hospitals in Surrey we declared a Critical Incident to enable us to take additional, coordinated action with our system partners to see and treat patients in ED in a timely way and maintain safe services for patients. While we are no longer in a Critical Incident, our services remain busy and winter challenges persist across the system. We therefore continue to urge our local community to utilise other NHS services such as 111 or nearby urgent treatment centres or minor injury units where possible and only use the Emergency Department for life-threatening emergencies to ensure care is available for those who need it most.

Managing the spread of infections 

Alongside the other pressures and the presence of Flu and Covid, over the last month we also saw a rise in Norovirus cases amongst staff and patients, which also impacted how we move patients around the site and mange admissions. We therefore remind those visiting the hospital to follow the infection control measures we have in place to protect you - including good hand-hygiene and wearing masks in clinical areas. Visitors should also consider delaying their visit if they have symptoms associated with respiratory conditions, including COVID-19 and flu, or diarrhoea or vomiting. You can find out more here.

Quality summit

Last week the Trust also held a quality summit with over 40 representatives of its partners from across the wider system, looking at areas such as patient experience, risk and capacity, with a focus on patient flow and how also to optimise the care for patients with mental health needs. There was really positive engagement and energy on the day - looking at what we do well at and what we could do differently in collaboration with our partners. A huge thank you to everyone who was involved. We look forward to taking that work forward.

Magenta Zone plans 

As you’ll see from our latest Board papers, the Trust has been working closely with the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service to actively manage building issues in the Magenta Zone and are progressing plans to vacate services by, or as near to, the end of March 2026 as possible. These plans cover our ground floor inpatient wards, first floor office space, and Aldrich Blake Unit and the Dental Unit on the second floor. Following robust risk assessments and engagement with our partners on the best long-term solution for our patients and colleagues in line with the NHS 10-year Plan, we have embraced the principle to shift services closer to local communities where possible, and are also exploring other options to mitigate these changes such as expanding our Same Day Emergency Care services and working with our partners to reduce admissions and ensure capacity for those who need it.  

Our partners

Redhill CDC opens to patients

I am pleased to update that our new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill is now open, after welcoming its first patients earlier this month. The new CDC will help tens of thousands of local patients get vital tests and checks sooner – with almost 40,000 tests - such as CT scans, X-rays, ECG’s, ultrasounds – expected to be carried out in its first year. This has been a partnership project with colleagues at Surrey Heartlands ICB and the Belfry Shopping Centre, who have helped make this centre a reality over the last few months. The addition of a new CDC to our local healthcare offer builds on the Trust’s existing community diagnostics services at Crawley Hospital, which has delivered over 280,000 tests and checks since launching in April 2023.

Citizens Advice service for staff

In January SASH became the first NHS Trust in the country to offer a dedicated Citizens Advice service for staff. The service supports staff with a number of challenges and is available free of charge thanks to the Trust’s Charity – who received a grant from NHS England and NHS Charities Together. The service offers face-to-face, telephone and online consultations, along with follow-up casework when needed. It’s being delivered in partnership with Reigate and Banstead and Citizens Advice Tandridge District.

Trust news

HSJ Digital Awards 2026

I am delighted to share that SASH has been shortlisted for two awards in the Health Services Journal Digital Awards 2026: Digital Transformation Organisation of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in EPR Implementation and Optimisation – Digital Care Pathways. The HSJ Digital Awards shine a light on teams and organisations driving meaningful change through technology, improving patient outcomes, streamlining processes, and enhancing the overall quality of care. So being shortlisted for two categories this year is brilliant news and a clear recognition of our commitment to transforming digital healthcare and finding new digital solutions that support our patients and clinicians. 

New Chief Nurse 

I am pleased to announce that we have appointed Sarah Burton as our new Chief Nurse. Sarah has worked in the NHS for the past 30 years, holding a range of senior leadership roles including at Ashford and St Peter’s hospitals, and University College London hospitals where she was Deputy Chief Nurse. She is currently Chief Nurse at Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Sarah brings with her extensive operational experience, a strong background in collaborative system leadership across both Surrey and North West London, and in recent years has led significant improvements in quality and safety through a focus on culture, leadership and governance. Sarah will take up her new role in Spring 2026. In the interim Katrina O'Shea will continue as our Acting Chief Nurse, and I want to pay tribute to her for the outstanding contribution she continues to make in overseeing and leading our nursing and midwifery services and workforce. 

Embarking on a new solar energy project

Last year East Surrey Hospital secured national funding for a solar energy project to reduce its electrical use and carbon footprint as part of its plans for a more sustainable future. The Trust, which was up against some 300 other bids, secured £1,615,224 of Government funding for solar installations on its East Surrey Hospital site as part of the national Great British Energy Local Power Plan. The new solar farm will be a rooftop installation, with installation plans for 2827 new rooftop panels already well under away. We are aiming to have the solar panels fully operational by Spring 2026. Once up and running it is predicted that 99% of energy use will be utilised by the hospital infrastructure and that the new rooftop farm will offset 13% of the hospital’s total electrical energy consumption - eliminating 327 tonnes of CO₂, which is equivalent to 15,036 trees, and saving the Trust more than £6.5m over 25 years - reducing carbon emissions by 454 tonnes a year, which is fantastic news for our site, our patients and our local community.

Best wishes,

Andrew Hines

Chief Executive