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St Helier and St George’s Hospitals

Volume 704: debated on Tuesday 23 November 2021

6. What recent assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed downgrade of services at St Helier hospital on the delivery of acute services at St George's hospital. (904300)

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. To answer the tabled question, no recent assessment has been made of the changes associated with the Epsom and St Helier reconfiguration, including proposed changes to some services outside the new Sutton site. The hon. Lady will know that these proposals have been through consultation, judicial review and the independent reconfiguration panel, which all supported the plans as being in the local population’s interest. The Secretary of State agreed with their advice.

Turning to the hon. Lady’s supplementary question, I am grateful to her and I know how strongly she feels about the issue, but I take her back to the point I have just made, which is that these proposals have all been through extensive consultation and extensive legal process and been looked at by the independent reconfiguration panel. Those processes all concluded that what is proposed is in the best health interest of the population.