NHS Wandsworth Board Set To Improve Plans For Putney

As the Board decide to revisit its current plans for the Putney Primary Care Centre, scheduled to open in 2010

The Board inform us that no final decisions about the future of this project or the hospital site have yet been made. Instead, the Board has been presented with a number of future options which are currently being assessed. The results of these options will be reported at the September Board meeting, where the final decision will be taken.    

After deep reflection and a reassessment of the current proposed scheme, NHS Wandsworth's Putney Project Board recommended to the PCT's Board that the current proposal should be reviewed and work should continue to find the best and most achievable solution for local primary and community care in the area.

The current financial climate means that the value of residential property in London has dropped and the availability of NHS capital investment across London is uncertain.  The affordability of our current proposed scheme has always partly relied on land sales.

The economic downturn has of course meant that NHS Wandsworth's financial outlook is not as bright as this time last year, as is the case with all NHS organisations across the country.   Our finances have got tighter and we need to balance this across the whole of the borough.

Ann Radmore, Chief Executive of NHS Wandsworth, said: “We had tried to be optimistic during the economic down turn.  We wanted to believe we could go ahead with our commitments.  We have now reached a point where we have to reconsider.  We know we will have some difficult decisions to make over the coming weeks.

“We need to make sure that all of our improvement plans for healthcare across the borough are suitable for both the local populations they will serve but also fit together to improve access to services for all residents.  Putney Primary Care Centre is one part of our Wandsworth wide plans and proposals to develop and invest in primary and community health services.  We have plans to add services to Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, so that it becomes the hub of a federated west Wandsworth polyclinic.  In May we announced the new GP led health centre near Clapham Junction and launched a formal consultation to ask local people what they think of our improvement proposals for south Wandsworth.

“NHS Wandsworth and the Council both agree that there is still a real need to find accommodation for the two GP practices, and revisiting our plans does not alter this priority. It does however provide us with an opportunity to realign our plans with the current borough-wide strategy, which focuses on providing services from easily accessible locations so that our investments benefit as many residents as possible.  We will continue to work closely with the Council to find the best solution for the patients and practices in Putney.

“We want to reassure you that we will only make the decision not to proceed with our current plans after very careful consideration of all the possible options open to us. It is important that we get this right and by allowing ourselves this additional time to consider all options available to us, we can make sure we reach the correct decision and provide the best possible healthcare services for people living and working in Putney, Roehampton and Wandsworth as a whole.” 

June 10, 2009