Frimley Clinic Patients Abandoned

The following message has appeared on the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Genitourinary Medicine webpage: “From 16 June 2017 Frimley Health will no longer be able to offer this service to patients at Frimley Park Hospital. This is because commissioners of sexual health services have chosen a different provider. " People are then directed to the following links for alternative services: Kingston: http://www.sexualhealthkingston.co.uk/ Guildford/Woking/Redhill: http://www.sexualhealth.cnwl.nhs.uk/ Aldershot/Basingstoke: https://www.letstalkaboutit.nhs.uk/ The Kingston link is to the Wolverton Centre at Kingston Hospital - this is a hospital based sexual health, HIV and GUM Clinic, like those at Frimley Park and St Peter’s Hospital, but it is not an accessible alternative given its distance from the Frimley area. The service currently provided for Guildford/Woking/Redhill by Central & North West London NHS Trust (CNWL) is a sexual health and contraception service operating from just three locations with HIV testing kits available online. It does not begin to match the range of diagnostic and treatment services provided by the Frimley Park Hospital GUM Clinic. It is not an alternative service. For Hampshire patients attending the Frimley Clinic one looks in vain on the “letstalkaboutit” site for a hospital clinic or range of services equivalent to those provided at Frimley Park Hospital GUM Clinic. Again, not an alternative service. Surrey County Council, as the main commissioner of these services for Surrey, previously committed to extend the Frimley Park Hospital GUM Clinic (along with the Blanche Heriot Unit) for six months from 1 April 2017. Here is the relevant minute from the Leader Decisions, 20 March 2017 - https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=5515&x=1 This decision was taken “to allow for sufficient time to exit from these contracts safely”. It does not appear that the alternative service links on the Frimley Park GUM Clinic webpage provide for “a safe exit.” It remains the case that CNWL have yet to produce any substantive plans that will give patients information and assurance about the future management of their conditions. Why has Surrey County Council reneged on its commitment to extend the Frimley Park GUM Clinic for six months? Healthwatch Surrey, whom Surrey CC should have consulted, knew nothing about this reversal of decision and it’s a pretty safe bet that there has been no consultation or engagement with the Frimley GUM Clinic patients or local GPs either. The commissioners appear to believe that they can take these decisions without any regard to due process. As a result, Frimley Park Hospital will be left without an HIV service after 16 June. This is likely to increase the number of patients attending the Blanche Heriot Unit, which is already over 15,000 attendances per annum, reinforcing the need for the threat to the Blanche Heriot Unit to be lifted by Surrey County Council as a matter of urgency.