Hello all, 

During June the Trust was recognised by the Prime Minister for being one of the top Trusts nationally for delivering improved waiting list performance – which has been a real highlight. We also shared our plans to improve care we provide to our patients experiencing a mental health event, and were recognised for our life-saving organ donation work.

We also celebrated some important staff awareness days and launched a sustainability travel survey to support our greener travel agenda. 

While I am pleased to say that June’s industrial action by Resident Doctors was stood down, a surge in demand for our emergency care services, coupled with lower than expected discharges and exceptionally high temperatures, led us to declare a Critical Incident on 22 June. With thanks to our brilliant teams, our partners and our local community, we were able to stand down the incident the following day. We managed the remainder of the heatwave through regular incident management meetings to help ensure we were allocating the appropriate actions and resources to patient areas and to support our teams. We also responded to an incident caused by the temporary closure of the M25, with South East Coast Ambulance Service conveying a number of travellers who had become acutely unwell due to the heat to East Surrey Hospital.

During the response, we were also grateful for the support we received from our local Tesco, and Old Chestnut Pub, who answered our urgent call for ice supplies to help treat some of the most unwell patients in our ED. It was a welcome act of kindness that meant a great deal. I also want to thank everyone who volunteered to support our services during such a challenging week. I am hugely grateful to be part of such a generous and supportive local community.

Our services  

Delivering our strongest elective performance since before the pandemic 

In June we announced that last year we delivered our strongest elective care performance since before the pandemic, significantly improving patient waiting times and reducing our overall waiting lists - landing our trust amongst the top ten in the country for elective improvement. In 2025/26 we reduced our overall waiting list by 14% and increased the number of patients being treated within 18 weeks from 55% to 67%, an improvement of more than 11%. A targeted national initiative to increase outpatient activity also led to additional capacity for patients, and in the final quarter of the year, we delivered over 1,800 extra first outpatient appointments - reducing waiting times for local people and improving patient experience. 

It is a huge achievement and meets one of our key priorities as a trust. Alongside the CEOs of the other nine organisations who also delivered similar improvements, in June I represented the Trust at a roundtable discussion led by the Prime Minister and Health Secretary - who asked me to pass on their personal thanks to all our staff for what we have achieved. It was a very proud moment to be able to represent our brilliant teams, who have worked so hard to deliver these results and transform how we provide care, as well as our partners who have supported this work along the way through new ways of working and closer collaboration which has helped us see more patients and improve access. It’s a significant step forward, but we recognise there is still more to do, and I look forward to seeing how we can build on this progress in the months ahead.

Investing in Enhanced Therapeutic Observations and Care (ETOC) 

I am pleased to update that we are investing £2.2m in our ETOC offer to support the number of patients presenting to our Emergency Department with mental health needs. Demand and complexity in this area have increased significantly since the pandemic, and we are working closely with our mental health partners to improve pathways and identify alternatives to ED care where appropriate. As part of this we are creating an enhanced care team, led by a senior mental health nurse and supported by specialist clinicians. This team will provide expert clinical oversight for patients with a primary mental health diagnosis, both in ED and on our wards, helping to improve the quality of care, reduce length of stay, and support timely movement to the most appropriate setting. Alongside improving patient outcomes, this will also enable us to reduce our reliance on agency mental health nurses and build sustainable, in-house expertise that will support patient care and flow through our ED, also reducing our costs.

Our partners 

How working with our partners on rehabilitation can be life-changing 

This month, our partners at First Community shared the story of Anna, whose recovery at 88 years old, highlights the positive difference that timely rehabilitation and strong partnership working across NHS services in local neighbourhoods can make to people’s lives. After a period in hospital following surgery, Anna returned home; however, assessments showed her mobility had declined and she faced additional challenges including pain, skin damage and reduced strength. Our team worked with First Community to review her needs and, recognising her potential to improve, arranged a period of intensive rehabilitation at Caterham Dene Hospital. There, a multidisciplinary team developed a personalised plan to support her recovery. Following several weeks of focused therapy, Anna has now returned home independently, without the need for ongoing care support, and continues to build her strength with community services. Her journey demonstrates how joined-up care, early identification of rehabilitation needs and access to the right support at the right time can make a life-changing difference to our patients.

Trust news  

National recognition for life-saving organ donation work

I am pleased to share we have been recognised by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) after achieving a 100% organ donation referral rate in 2025/26 - ensuring every potential opportunity to save lives was identified. Over the past year, the team referred 80 patients to NHSBT’s Organ Donation Services and supported six patients to donate. These donations helped 14 people receive life-saving transplants, including a heart transplant and a liver transplant that benefited both an adult and a child. In addition, five patients became tissue donors, helping multiple people through eye, tendon, and heart valve donation. 

Integrating organ and tissue donation into our standard end of life care at SASH has been key to this achievement and reflects the vital role our teams play in referring potential donors, and in supporting families with care, compassion and the right information at the most difficult time. Our role as an acute Trust is vital for saving the lives of the many on transplant waiting lists across the South-East, and while 425 people received a transplant in the South-East last year, sadly 43 people died on the waiting list. We will continue doing all we can to support the donation programme with those families in mind.

Trust’s sustainability travel plan 

As a Trust our staff travel over 690,000 miles each year not including our commutes to work, and staff and visitor travel to our sites accounts for around 13% of our carbon footprint as a Trust. This makes travel a part of how we deliver patient care. To inform the Trust’s sustainable travel plan for the years ahead, we’re exploring how and why we choose to travel as we do, and how we can better support lower carbon alternatives as much as practically possible through our sustainability travel survey. The information we gather will not only support our refreshed Green Plan ambitions but will also help our future planning around travel for our Trust so we can build on the progress we have made to date in tackling our carbon emissions. 

Celebrating Estates and Facilities Day

This month we also marked Estates and Facilities Day to recognise the colleagues who keep our hospitals running every day. Their work often happens behind the scenes, yet it touches every part of the Trust and every patient journey. Whether they're helping patients find their way, maintaining critical equipment, keeping our hospitals clean and safe, managing waste or responding to urgent repairs, these teams make an enormous difference to the experience of patients, visitors and staff.

Over the last year, our teams have also delivered several major improvements across our sites, including:

  • A new covered corridor linking the main hospital building with Surrey and Sussex wards, improving comfort, dignity and accessibility for patients, visitors and staff.
  • A replacement ventilation system in the Mortuary Department, creating a safer working environment.
  • A new fire escape bridge for ICU, delivering an important safety improvement and achieving full compliance with national fire safety standards.
  • Installation of a new solar photovoltaic system across our estate, supporting our Green Plan commitments and helping create a more sustainable future.

Best wishes,

Andrew Hines

Chief Executive