Why is the Blanche Heriot Unit under threat?

It has nothing to do with the service provided by the Unit, which is excellent and a credit to the NHS. It has everything to do with the commissioning of services in the modern NHS, further complicated by the Government’s decision to move responsibility for Public Health services (which included Contraceptive and Sexual Health Services) to Local Authorities. In 2016 a procurement exercise was carried out jointly by Surrey County Council (SCC) and NHS England (South East) for ‘Integrated Sexual Health Services & HIV Treatment & Care Services for Surrey’ to take effect from 1 April 2017. Previously these services were provided in a range of community clinics by Virgin Care, and at the Blanche Heriot Unit and Frimley Park Hospital by Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust respectively. The commissioners put a budget envelope of £4m on the invitation to tender – this effectively cut the budget for these services by one third leading SCC to announce savings of £2m per annum when the contract was awarded. None of the previous providers submitted bids for the new contract which was awarded to a sole bidder, Central & North West London (CNWL) NHS Trust. Was this because the previous providers realised that they could not deliver the current levels of service within the substantially reduced budget? CNWL have introduced a ‘hub and spoke’ model of service with just three main clinics for the whole of Surrey – at Woking Community Hospital; Buryfields, Guildford and Earnsdale, Redhill. It is not clear how the ‘spoke’ element is intended to work. CNWL have ceased the provision of sexual health services at 13 clinics located throughout Surrey to be replaced by what CNWL describes as their Outreach and ‘Clinic in a Box’ service. CNWL have indicated that they will not require the use of the Blanche Heriot Unit premises (nor the clinic premises at Frimley Park Hospital) but in the six months since the contract was awarded in October 2016 CNWL have produced no proposals for the reprovision of these services. Surrey County Council have therefore given the Blanche Heriot Unit and the Frimley Park Clinic an extension of six months. The Blanche Heriot Unit is a Level 3 Clinic providing a Consultant-led Sexual Health, HIV and Genitourinary Medicine Service. It is fully integrated on the St Peter’s Hospital site with A&E, antenatal and post-natal services, maternity, gynaecology, colorectal, dermatology and pathology services, which are essential clinical links. Woking Community Hospital Is not a viable alternative location – there is nowhere near enough space there to accommodate the Blanche Heriot Unit, which is a dedicated facility with 5 consulting rooms, 2 Health Advisor rooms, a laboratory, 2 waiting rooms plus office space accommodating a total of 25 medical, nursing and support staff. The day-to-day interdependency with other key hospital departments would also be lost. The lack of certainty about the future of the Blanche Heriot Unit is causing great anxiety for its dedicated staff and enormous distress for the patients who rely upon it, many of whom have posted comments on the petition website that show just how much they value and depend upon the service provided by Dr Pritchard and all of the Blanche Heriot team. This campaign is vital in influencing the decision-makers – those who commission these services – to think again and allow the Blanche Heriot Unit to continue to operate, preferably continuing under the direct management of Ashford & St Peter’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. So, please continue to encourage friends, family, work colleagues – and especially patients – to sign the petition, write to their MPs and build the campaign to keep the Blanche Heriot Unit Open.