Hello all,
My second month in post has flown by and it’s been a privilege and a pleasure to be able to see for myself the great work that goes on every day at SASH. Since my last update I’ve met many more teams delivering frontline clinical services as well as a range of our critical support services. I continue to be impressed by the passion and commitment of our staff, the many examples of great care, and the ideas for improvement that I want to support. The Trust’s reputation has enabled us to make excellent new consultant appointments in cardiology, respiratory medicine and orthogeriatric medicine in recent weeks.
This month we launched our staff flu campaign, stepped up our winter response, and recognised our Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit for their annual audit.
We have also been hard at work behind the scenes on a financial recovery plan to support our financial position and working with our partners on a number of upcoming projects – which I look forward to sharing more about over the next few months.
Our services
Winter demand
Since my last update we have started to see the early rise in winter viruses and infections – and as a result have already introduced mask wearing in clinical areas to help curb the spread of infections. Another way to curb infection is of course prevention - so while our staff Flu campaign has got off to a good start this year, we would also encourage our patients and other visitors to the site to consider getting a flu jab if they are eligible through their GP. We would also urge those visiting patients on the site to consider not doing so if they have symptoms of Flu or Norovirus to help keep our patients and staff as safe as possible.
Like other hospitals across the system, our Emergency Department is also already seeing some early winter pressure. While we will continue working hard to implement our winter plan and take every opportunity to reduce pressure on the Emergency Department, as always, we would urge those who don’t need emergency care to consider the other NHS services available to help them such as NHS 111, pharmacies, Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injury Units and make the right choice for your needs this winter.
Our partners
Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Boards
As part of the wider NHS reform signalled by the Government earlier this year and national changes to Integrated Care Boards, at the start of October NHS Surrey Heartlands and NHS Sussex Integrated Care Boards began working more collaboratively together as strategic commissioners of NHS services in Surrey Heartlands and Sussex. The cluster arrangement from 1 October 2025 is a step forward in their transition to a new organisation from 1 April 2026. SASH services are right at the heart of the new cluster, which I think is a really positive step forward for the Trust. We welcome the appointment of Karen McDowell as CEO across the ICB cluster.
Working with our partners
With tighter financial budgets across the NHS and the publication of the NHS 10-year Plan – which aims to digitise services, move more into the community and increase our focus on prevention – it’s vital that we work even more closely with our partners such as QVH, Ashford and St Peter’s and Royal Surrey to explore the best and most sustainable service options for our patients, our local community and our workforce. Over the coming months we will be starting to look in more detail at what these partnership options might look like. I look forward to keeping you updated.
Trust news
Celebrating our teams
Our Hospital Sterilisation and Decontamination Unit (HSDU) have had their annual UKCE audit and as a result of the hard work of the team, HSDU has achieved full compliance with zero non-conformities. This is a fantastic achievement and shows we are working at the highest standard.
Our Trust Charity
I have also recently met with our Trust Charity for the first time to hear more about the work they do to help us give people the best possible experience when they need our hospitals. It was inspiring to hear about the Charity’s recent fundraising drives – for example congratulations to the 18 members of our Core Clinical Services Team who recently climbed Mount Snowdon. The team included surgeons, radiologists, nurses, mammographers, imaging assistants, and receptionists, all working together as one team to raise money for the Charity following its support with a new mammography chair, refurbished waiting areas, and improvements to the chemotherapy suite.
You may have seen the Charity recently changed its name to East Surrey Hospital Charity, and Surrey & Sussex Healthcare Charity as it aims to make it much easier for people to donate or fundraise to support the Trust’s work across East Surrey, Crawley and Horsham. In fact, the name change has already led to a 50% increase in the number of people donating to the charity this year compared to the same period last year. So, there’s definitely some exciting new possibilities ahead as the charity continues to develop. You can find out more at www.sashcharity.org.
I’m also grateful for the support we receive from the Friends of East Surrey Hospital, who run the coffee shop at the east entrance. They help with many of the little extras that improve patient experience, such as the new digital radios that I saw being delivered to our wards over the last few weeks.
Board updates
To update, Catherine Jervis has stepped down from her role as Deputy Chair and as Chair of the Performance, Infrastructure and Resources Committee. She remains on the Board, and Frank Sims has stepped up as Interim Deputy Chair from 1 October 2025 until 11 January 2026, after which Jayne Phoenix will take on the role.
We have also seen a change in the Chief Nurse role with Tina Hetherington leaving the Trust in October. Katrina O’Shea, our Deputy Chief Nurse, is acting up in the interim while we work on a longer-term appointment.
Karen Breen, our Chief Operating Officer, has also announced that she will be taking her long-planned retirement next spring and we will shortly be beginning the recruitment process for her successor.