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Hello all,
In May, alongside some busy weekends in our Emergency Department with more patients needing our care, we have announced plans for a new Community Diagnostic service in Redhill and taken time to celebrate our staff. We also made a number of improvements to our patient experience – including launching a new birthing options video, increasing the number of blood test appointments available at Horsham, and introducing a new ‘About me’ document to better support patients living with illnesses like dementia.
Our services
Introducing ‘About me’
In May we marked Dementia Action Week, an annual campaign led by the Alzheimer’s Society to improve dementia diagnosis, support, and care. At East Surrey Hospital, we are seeing more patients living with dementia, reflecting our ageing population and national trends. However, with around one in three people still undiagnosed, the real number of patients affected is likely higher than we know. As part of Dementia Action Week, we launched a new patient document called ‘About Me’. The document, which is linked to the patient’s electronic hospital record, means staff will now have quick access to details that will help them better understand and support patients living with dementia, communication difficulties, delirium or cognitive impairments – including personal routines, cultural or religious preferences and communication needs.
Birthing options video
This month we also launched a new birthing options video to help support patients and families expecting babies to prepare and gain a better understanding of the different birthing options available to them at the Trust. It includes information on home, birth centre, delivery suite and planned elective births - giving patients a greater insight into what support they can expect from the Trust’s midwifery teams before, during and after they give birth. The video is the latest in a wave of work being done by the Trust’s midwifery service to improve patient experience and understanding of what to expect when you’re expecting. You can find more information here.
Our partners
Phlebotomy changes
In March, the Trust launched a new online booking system for patient blood tests. The new booking system, which aims to improve patient experience and reduce waiting times, means patients are now able to book blood test appointments in advance for the first time. SwiftQueue replaces the Trust’s previous walk-in model at all three of its sites. While the new system has been working well at East Surrey and Crawley Hospitals, the system at Horsham has needed a few more adjustments to help ensure patients are getting the access they need as quickly as possible. In response to patient feedback, the service has released more than 20 additional appointments every day and will be keeping demand against these appointments under close review.
Our partners
Community Diagnostic service Redhill
We will shortly be announcing an exciting new addition to our local healthcare offer – a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Redhill. The new centre, funded by NHS England, will be located in the Belfry Shopping Centre and will increase local access to diagnostic testing and reduce waiting times – helping tens of thousands of local patients get vital tests and checks sooner, without having to attend hospital. The new CDC is expected to carry out almost 40,000 tests - such as CT scans, X-rays, ECG’s, ultrasounds - in its first year, which could mean around 200,000 fewer patient journeys to East Surrey Hospital over the next five years. Once fully up and running, the CDC is expected to offer patients a 12-hour service, seven days a week. Quicker and more efficient tests and checks also means we can start treatment for the most serious illnesses such as cancer much sooner - ensuring more of our patients benefit from earlier diagnosis and better outcomes. We aren’t doing this alone, and are working closely with our partners including Surrey Heartlands ICB and the Belfry Shopping Centre.
The new centre in Redhill builds on the Trust’s existing community diagnostics services, which were launched at Crawley Hospital in April 2023. While construction on some of the areas of the Trust’s Crawley CDC are still underway, the centre’s temporary services have already delivered over 169,000 tests and checks since they were first expanded just over two years ago – with plans for a further 171,500 tests before the end of March 2026. I look forward to keeping you all updated as we prepare to welcome our first patients later this year.
Mental Health Week
This month we also worked with our partners at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to mark Mental Health Week - to help raise awareness of the importance of mental health in the hospital and the key role this plays alongside physical and social health. Contacts from key community services were on hand to give staff and the public the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about their services, as well as increasing the visibility of what is already available in the hospital. Talking about mental health and what we can all do to support each other to have more of these conversations can only be a positive step in the right direction and will help us all work towards reducing the stigma around mental health within the physical health setting and improve our relationships.
Trust news
Celebrating our staff
In the last month, the Trust has also celebrated the incredible contributions of a number of its staff groups by marking national awareness days such as National Administrative Professionals Day, Operating Department Practitioner Day, International Midwives Day and International Nurses Day. While we don’t need to wait for an awareness day to be able to celebrate the work of our teams, it does provide a good opportunity to pause and highlight how much each profession does to support the delivery of our services to patients across the Trust. From the work our administrative staff do to support patients behind the scenes, and the work our ODP’s do to support those being treated in theatres, to all our nursing and midwifery teams do to support patients and families through the most joyous, and sometimes the most difficult days of their lives. We couldn’t do any of what we do without them.
Water Saving Week
In the context of the recent dry and sunny weather over Spring, which means as a country we haven’t had as much rain as we would normally to fill our reservoirs, in May the Trust also marked Water Saving Week. The campaign reminds us how small daily actions can make a difference in protecting our future. Wasting water doesn't just deplete our supplies, it wastes the energy and resources invested in making it safe to drink and deliver it to your tap. This energy-intensive process depends on aging infrastructure and often involves fossil fuel use, with every wasted litre adding unnecessary strain on systems that already face growing demands. At SASH we are reinforcing the importance of sustainable water use as part of our Green Plan commitment.
How can you help? Whether you’re at home or at work, turning off taps while you brush your teeth or scrub dishes can save six litres per minutes, while cutting down your shower time can save up to 17 litres per minute. Every drop counts, whether it’s for patient care, reducing our carbon footprint, or protecting future resources. You can find out more about our Green Plan efforts here.
Best wishes,
Angela Stevenson
Chief Executive