Agenda item

To provide an update on the status and activities of the redevelopment programme and the creation of a JHOSC.

Andrew Statham, Director of Strategy, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) presented the report on the Royal Berkshire Hospital redevelopment programme – Building Berkshire Together (Agenda Item 3).

It was explained that the Royal Berkshire Hospital was on the Hospital Development Programme. There were three stages and they were now starting the Outline Business Case stage to narrow down the preferred options of location and scale. This would be followed by the Full Business Case.

Mr Statham highlighted the work being done to get to the Outline Business Case stage. This included reflecting on the Clinical Services Strategy (Agenda Item 5) and other aspects about the scope and future location of the site. This would involve a multi-faceted analysis around resident’s access, staff access, the cost of the redevelopment and the number of services needing to be located on the site. RBFT were looking to engage members of the public and key stakeholders to get it right for the residents using services going forward.

Councillor Alan Macro asked for detail about the timescales on the location decision. It was advised that the Trust wanted to complete the work for the Outline Business Case this financial year.

Councillor Tony Linden asked four questions:

·         When were the Trust anticipating their engagement with Local Authority Health Scrutiny Committees and calling for a Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) to be set up?

·         What were your patient flows?  This data would inform the composition of the JHOSC.

·         How would the Trust engage and consult with residents in West Berkshire?

·         Would they be holding open engagement events in West Berkshire?

It was confirmed that the engagement would take place in West Berkshire as with all communities. That would involve holding events with members of the public in West Berkshire. This had started already online and future events would be published. There was also a website to take individual questions and reflections from members of the public and stakeholders.

It was confirmed that the majority of patients came from Berkshire West. Less than 10% of total patient flow was from East Berkshire and most of that went to Bracknell and Wexham Park Hospital. There was some cross-border flow from South Oxfordshire and North Hampshire.

Councillor Andy Moore asked for clarification on the three options of the Outline Business Case.

It was confirmed that the Strategic Outline Case had 6 options of which doing nothing was one option. A second was to fix the backlog maintenance and a third option was the backlog maintenance and then a minimal build. The Board felt these did not satisfy the needs of the population in the future. There were then two options on the current site. One to make use of the buildings built in the 2000’s and one to reconfigure all the buildings. A final option was to find a new site and relocate away from the current site.

Councillor Macro raised concern about the South Block and its suitability for development. Secondly Councillor Macro asked if the proposals would include support for visitors and staff arriving by private car or public transport.

It was confirmed that only one of the proposals included the use of the South Block. The more substantial redevelopment didn’t include it. On parking progress was being made to reduce staff parking on site to make improvements for staff and those accessing services. However the current site was doubly prescribed.

Councillor Graham Bridgman confirmed that some volunteer drivers could be helped with a drop-off area. Councillor Bridgman noted the following and invited the Trust to comment:

1)    Funding would affect outcome. The funding available would make a huge difference on want could be done.

2)    Was there a case for having certain aspects of the emergency elements of the Trust somewhere where ambulances could get to very quickly?

3)    What evidence was there about how location would affect outcomes? To what extent could the tension between those living and working in Reading and those who lived out of the area be relieved by better transport links wherever the hospital site ended up.

The process to secure funding was confirmed. The RBFT were in cohort four of the New Hospital Programme. They would be going back to the Treasury with the rest of the Hospitals to get a solution so that the hospital could be built by 2030. That was happening in October 2022 and so they would start to get an idea of what funding was available then. There was extreme pressure on the funding. Partners would be welcomed to help influence this over the next quarter.

On location, the Trust advised that the location of an Emergency Department did impact on how many patients turned up and from which communities. Emergency Services were used disproportionately by people from deprived communities and so this needed to be taken into account on the location of the hospital. It would be considered if they were better supported by other services and the Emergency Department used as a last resort. Transport solutions would be considered to enable continued access. There was research happening into health inequalities and how a change of location would impact particular groups. It would be important not to disadvantage communities.

Councillor Bridgman noted that were issues with transport into the current site. In particular the lack of bus service, rail access and issues with car access. Bus and train access would also help to minimise the car access issues.

Councillor Rowles welcomed further conversations to support the Trust.

Councillor Moore requested clarification on how the JHOSC would be formed and who would lead on it.

The Trust confirmed that the Council needed to propose the JHOSC and the Trust would help to inform that. They had spoken with Reading and would be speaking with Wokingham. Andy Sharp advised of the process going forward.

Councillor Jeff Beck stated that the Committee needed to form a view regarding the location of the Hospital. A new site had many advantages rather than redeveloping the existing site which did not seem to be a practical solution. The Trust recognised that a decision needed to be made. There were challenges in redeveloping the current site but there would also be challenges in moving to a new site. There were buildings on the current site which might be useable as part of a modern infrastructure. The Trust wanted to do the appraisal well over the next year, taking on board the views of residents and their representatives.

Councillor Linden suggested a site visit for Members. Councillor Linden also noted congestion and its impact on the ambulance service. He also noted p54 of the agenda and the importance of the physical environment to support healing. There might be the opportunity to build outside of Reading. He highlighted that access was a key issue.

The Trust welcomed a visit from Members of the Health Scrutiny Committee. It was agreed access was really important to all the communities and was complicated because people accessed the site in various different ways.

Councillor Macro noted on the access issue that as a car user he avoided using the multi storey car park. He noted that on the site there was an education centre and West Drive which could be used. He noted that there was a large gap in the consultation and requested that people were made aware of the proposals and given the opportunity to partake in the consultation. The Trust confirmed they were taking occupancy of some of the University buildings. For example the Harborne Building. They were also making changes to West Drive. They were lots of ideas to redevelop the current site and community engagement would really help.

Councillor Bridgman noted that an obvious location of a new site would be Junction 11 where there would be rail and bus access. However, he highlighted that funding was needed to enable this. It was an exceedingly expensive proposal. Therefore redevelopment of the Craven Road site would be more realistic. On the consultation discussion, Councillor Bridgman advised that there was a website and communications had taken place. He stated that further engagement was needed.

Councillor Moore requested confirmation on the timescales of the Outline Business Case. The Trust confirmed that the New Hospital Programme needed to be formally told when they could move forward. This would be scheduled over the summer and so it was likely to be later this year or in the early part of next year. However, the Trust said they were keen to progress. Councillor Moore noted that the Council would need to progress the JHOSC. The Trust advised that the New Hospital Programme would consider a readiness to go and this would include having a JHOSC up and running.