What does this mean for Sheffield Children’s Hospital?
There would be no changes to services at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, though the hospital would see more patients. Planning for this and managing extra numbers of children is currently being discussed.
What does this mean for Doncaster Royal Infirmary?
Doncaster would likely see an increase in their children’ surgery service for children needing overnight and weekend stays. Planning for this and managing extra numbers of children is currently being discussed.
What does this mean for Pinderfields Hospital (Mid Yorkshire)?
Pinderfields Hospital is in a different NHS region and therefore outside of our authority. However, we recognise that a change in Barnsley may impact on Pinderfields and we are working with our neighbouring hospitals and organisations to plan and manage a small increase in the number of patients.
I live in Barnsley/Chesterfield/Rotherham - where will I go if my child needs an operation?
In the future, you may need to go to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Pinderfields General Hospital in Wakefield or Sheffield Children's Hospital if your child needs a specific operation that is no longer provided at your local hospital at night or at a weekend - but at the moment, nothing will change.
What if my child needs an emergency operation?
In an emergency, at the moment, children might go to their local hospital or they might be taken to the nearest specialist centre. It is likely they would be stabilised and transferred to a specialist centre on arrival at their local hospital.
The proposals would mean all children in all emergencies would be taken to a specialist centre.
Is this just to save money?
No. Our proposed changes are not about cutting services or saving money, but using what we have in the best possible way to get the best value and services for everyone.
You say option 1 is unsustainable and option 3 is challenging. Why are they options?
We think options 1 and 3 are feasible but we also recognise that it would be very difficult to maintain staffing cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It would require formal arrangements across the hospitals which don’t exist at the moment. When we assessed each option, options 1 and 3 were within the scoring range of ‘do-ability’ with acknowledged challenges. You can see how we arrived at the assessment in the pre-consultation business case (see pages 48-62).
How many children will this affect (overall)?
Based on the high level numbers we have, we estimate around one in seven children needing an emergency or overnight stay for an operation would be affected.
During the consultation, we have been asked if the numbers we have estimated include children who would stay overnight where they have had an operation.
The numbers we have used are based on national hospital data submitted for 2014/ 15. This data includes all children who come to hospital in an emergency and who need an overnight stay. There are a number of factors in each of the sub-specialities which affect the complexity of the surgery and the level of expertise / experience needed and this means that some specialities need some staff and others need more. We now need to look at data at the sub-speciality level to better understand what the numbers affected would be.
How many Barnsley children will this affect?
Less than 65 planned operations for the services under review take place in Barnsley Hospital every year. This is around 4% of the total figure for all of South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
Around 500 emergency operations for the services under review take place in Barnsley Hospital every year. This is 11% of the total figure for all of South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
Around 830 Barnsley children already have operations for the services under review in other South Yorkshire hospitals every year.
During the consultation, we have been asked if the numbers we have estimated include children who would stay overnight where they have had an operation.
The numbers we have used are based on national hospital data submitted for 2014/ 15. This data includes all children who come to hospital in an emergency and who need an overnight stay. There are a number of factors in each of the sub-specialities which affect the complexity of the surgery and the level of expertise / experience needed and this means that some specialities need some staff and others need more. We now need to look at data at the sub-speciality level to better understand what the numbers affected would be.
How many Rotherham children will this affect?
138 planned operations for the services under review take place in Rotherham Hospital every year. This is 9% of the total figure for all South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
Around 700 emergency operations for the services under review take place in Rotherham Hospital. This is 15% of the total figure for all South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
During the consultation, we have been asked if the numbers we have estimated include children who would stay overnight where they have had an operation.
The numbers we have used are based on national hospital data submitted for 2014/ 15. This data includes all children who come to hospital in an emergency and who need an overnight stay. There are a number of factors in each of the sub-specialities which affect the complexity of the surgery and the level of expertise / experience needed and this means that some specialities need some staff and others need more. We now need to look at data at the sub-speciality level to better understand what the numbers affected would be.
How many Chesterfield children will this affect?
Around 163 planned operations for the services under review take place in Chesterfield Royal Hospital every year. This is less than 11% of the total figure for all South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
Around 300 emergency operations for the services under review take place in Chesterfield Royal Hospital. This is less than 7% of the total figure for all South and Mid Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.
During the consultation, we have been asked if the numbers we have estimated include children who would stay overnight where they have had an operation.
The numbers we have used are based on national hospital data submitted for 2014/ 15. This data includes all children who come to hospital in an emergency and who need an overnight stay. There are a number of factors in each of the sub-specialities which affect the complexity of the surgery and the level of expertise / experience needed and this means that some specialities need some staff and others need more. We now need to look at data at the sub-speciality level to better understand what the numbers affected would be.
You’re closing children’s services, what’s next?
We are not closing children’s services, the proposals are for children who need operations under general anaesthetic at night, at a weekend or if they need to stay in hospital overnight.
For most services, most of the time, nothing would change. Children would still have operations in their local hospital for things like: tonsil removal, glue ear, setting of fractures/broken bones and any treatment that requires only a local anaesthetic but not being sent to sleep.
We are also proposing to change the way hyper acute stroke services (the first 72 hours of care after having a stroke) are provided across the same geography. You can read more about them here.
There are no plans to close other services.
Are paramedics trained to look after children in the ambulance?
Yes, paramedics are fully trained to look after children while they are travelling in an ambulance. They administer treatment and stabilise patients en route to the nearest centre, where tests immediately take place to help provide a diagnosis.
Who will pay for me to travel?
Some people qualify for help with travel costs under the healthcare travel scheme. This would be assessed by staff at the hospital and if eligible, costs would be paid.
How will relatives get to the hospital? Where can relatives stay? Will there be enough facilities for parents and carers to stay overnight with their child?
For parents and carers of children needing operations at night, at a weekend or they need an overnight stay in hospital, they would travel with the child in the ambulance if it was an emergency. Relatives would need to make their own way to the hospital at other times.
All of the hospitals within the preferred option have facilities for parents to stay overnight. These are Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.
Is this the first step to closing our local hospital?
There are no plans to close any hospitals.
The changes proposed are entirely about ensuring everyone in our region has the best experience and outcomes, faster treatment and better access to services.
The equality impact assessment has very little information contained within considering it was started in 2014 and was completed in 2016.
The assessment takes account of the data we have available to us. We explored the potential impact of service changes with different groups during our pre-consultation engagement phase, which was fed into the proposals, and are continuing to gather qualitative data from people with protected characteristics during the consultation. The analysis of feedback during the consultation will be done independently and be part of the information that the Joint Committee of CCGs will use to inform its decision.
The equality and impact assessment states that there will be no adverse impacts on pregnancy and maternity, is this why this protected characteristic is not included in the consultation document?
We have added this protected characteristic to our data collection on the website.
Where is the evidence to suggest that some children have better experiences and faster treatment than others?
There is a lot of supporting documentation to the proposals, including the pre-consultation business case, engagement reports and clinical reviews. The evidence around better experiences and faster treatment was gathered as part of the baseline assessment done with each hospital against the national Royal College standards. This information is on pages 16-22 in the pre-consultation business case.
There will be an increased pressure on Doncaster, Pinderfields and Sheffield Hospitals. Will this change ensure that children are seen as soon as possible?
We recognise the impact of the proposed changes on the hospitals and the planning for this and managing extra numbers of children is currently being discussed. We have asked the hospitals impacted to each put a business case together that will be considered as part of decision making.
The proposals are based on current provision across all sites being unsustainable and focus entirely on the quality of care and treatment, which includes being seen quickly and by the most appropriate person.
During the public consultation period, we are responding to your questions. Please email us helloworkingtogether@nhs.net with your questions.
