Hello all,
In July we responded to another heatwave, began to consider our response to the latest national maternity findings and next steps, and held our Annual General Meeting – where we marked the achievements of the last financial year.
We also shared our plans to improve care for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, held our first Summer discharge event to support our learning around getting patients home sooner, and our very own Student Midwife Representative became the first to receive a national Student Excellence Award for her work in supporting other students to succeed.
CQC report
In July we also received the outcome of our Care Quality Commission (CQC) Well-led assessment, which was took place last November. While it’s important to note this wasn’t a direct review of our patient services, the assessment of Trust leadership and culture across the organisation identified areas where we needed to improve, including governance and risk management, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and Freedom to Speak Up. It also recognised a number of strengths, including partnerships and community engagement, learning, improvement and innovation, and environmental sustainability. Following the assessment, the Trust's overall rating has been updated to Requires Improvement.
The CQC plays an important role in helping patients, staff and the public have confidence that NHS organisations are safe, effective and well led, and it's vital that our leadership reflects the experience of both our staff and our patients. We therefore welcome the CQC’s report into our Trust leadership and culture as they were last November.
Since then, we have made major changes to our executive leadership team, implemented a comprehensive improvement programme overseen by the Trust Board, and made significant progress across a number of the areas highlighted by the CQC – including on staff support, Freedom to Speak Up, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, governance and leadership development.Encouragingly, our most recent NHS Staff Survey showed improvements across six of the seven NHS People Promise themes.
With several new Executive Directors now in post, we have also taken the opportunity to strengthen our leadership across the organisation, and earlier this year we launched The SASH Leader Programme, which will help take this work forward to all leaders across the Trust.
While we have much more we want to do, we are fully committed to becoming an outstanding organisation once again and on delivering the improvements our staff, patients and local communities rightly expect.
Our services
Maternity review
The recent national maternity and neonatal reviews are an important reminder that women, babies and families must always be listened to and receive safe, compassionate and equitablecare. At SASH, we are reviewing the findings carefully and strengthening the work already underway to improve maternity safety, learn from feedback and incidents, and make sure families feel heard and supported. This includes acting on the new national 10-point plan, extending the rollout of Martha’s Rule to maternity and neonatal services, improving how we listen to patient experience, strengthening clinical review and audit, and continuing to support our maternity and neonatal teams to provide the best possible care.
We know these reports may be worrying for patients and families, but we would like to reassure those in our local communities that we are absolutely committed to listening and continually improving, so every family using our services receives care that is safe, respectful and centred on their needs.
Cold caps for hundreds more cancer patients at East Surrey Hospital
Twice as many cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at East Surrey Hospital and Crawley Hospital will now be offered scalp cooling, which will help save their hair during chemotherapy treatment by shielding hair follicles from the effects of the medication. Hundreds of patients a year receive chemotherapy across both hospitals, and for many, hair loss is one of the most visible and distressing effects of cancer treatment. Scalp cooling treatment, known as cold caps, lower the temperature of the scalp before, during and after chemotherapy. This reduces blood flow to the hair follicles, meaning less of the drug reaches them and they are less likely to be damaged. The new machines were paid for by a donation of almost £20,000 to Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Charity's cancer fund from an anonymous volunteer, who saw the difference the machines could make to patients undergoing cancer treatment. We expect to promote this story externally soon following the collection of photos and video.
Summer discharge event
Timely discharge keeps our hospital moving and helps patients get home safely, sooner and with the right support, but it remains a continued pressure. Discharge planning starts from admission, with that in mind, we held a summer discharge event in July, with senior leaders visiting designated wards throughout the day to explore how we can strengthen good practice and support more patients to leave hospital as soon as they are ready. The event helped improve patient flow and identified valuable learning to support better care and teamwork as we prepare for winter. It was great to hear how professionalism, compassion and one team spirit were demonstrated across the organisation, and I look forward to building on this learning in the weeks ahead to ensure we continue to improve our services in the best interests of our patients.
Our partners
Visit to Redhill CDC
In July, I also hosted a visit at our Redhill Community Diagnostic Centre, which opened in January, with members from the new East Surrey Shadow Authority as they prepare for the transition to one new unitary authority - East Surrey Council – from April 2027. It was great to have the opportunity to show our shadow councillors and Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom and Ewell, around our new facility and share the positive progress we have made over the last six months in increasing the access that local people have to NHS tests and checks closer to home.
Trailblazer bid to support more neighbourhood working
The East Surrey Alliance has submitted a Trailblazer bid to better develop how we all come together as providers in a more integrated way to introduce neighbourhood-based models of care across the local health and care system. The bid was led and coordinated by First Community Health and Care (FCHC) on behalf of the Alliance, bringing together contributions from NHS, local authority, voluntary sector and community partners to develop a shared proposal that reflects the needs and priorities of local communities. The process has demonstrated the strength of partnership working across East Surrey and the collective commitment to improving population health, reducing inequalities and delivering more joined-up care closer to home.
Trust news
First Student Midwife to receive the Student Excellence Award
This month Kerry Robbins, our third-year Student Midwife Representative, became the first Student Midwife to receive the Student Excellence Award in England and Wales. Alongside balancing academic studies and clinical placements, Kerry championed initiatives that bring students together, recognise excellence and help others thrive, and has gone above and beyondto support fellow learners. Her compassion, dedication and commitment to inclusion have earned praise from students, supervisors and families alike, and truly reflects our Trust values. She received the prestigious award from Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, Kaye Wilson, Regional Chief Midwife, and Sarah Burton, our Chief Nurse. Congratulations to Kerry and we look forward to her joining SASH in October as an Early Career Midwife.
Annual General Meeting
One of the highlights of the last month was our Annual General Meeting, which took place on Wednesday 15 July. It was my first at SASH and it was great to hear some excellent presentations from colleagues on research, planned care and digital improvements at SASH over the last year. We have made some really important improvements for our patients and staff, and I look forward to seeing what exciting new things we are able to deliver this year. If you missed the AGM, you can watch the recording here. You can also find a copy of our 2025/26 Annual Report here.
Executive leadership update
In October 2025, we announced the appointment of David Cooper as our Interim Chief Finance Officer. I am pleased to update that following a recruitment process, David has now been appointed to the post substantively. He brings with him over 16 years of experience in healthcare finance, along with knowledge working outside of finance in operational and programme management, and has made a significant contribution to the Trust’s financial sustainability since joining last year. I look forward to continuing to working with him in the years to come.