Health minister Lord O’Shaughnessy has said the NHS can learn from the transformation which is taking place at the new Chase Farm Hospital.

The parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Health, said he was ‘keen to see more of this kind of transformation’ after his tour of the hospital building site yesterday (September 27). 

Due to open in autumn 2018, during the 70th anniversary year of the NHS, work on the hospital is progressing on time and on budget. It will deliver world class care to patients who, along with local residents, have been involved from the start of the project in shaping how the hospital will meet their needs.

Lord O’Shaughnessy was given an extensive tour of the building which will provide out-patient services including diagnostics, musculoskeletal therapies and women’s services, an urgent care centre for both adults and children and an older person’s assessment unit. 

The site also will be home to theatres, day surgery, 50 surgical in-patient beds, endoscopy and medical day cases, including a chemotherapy unit.  In-patients and endoscopy patients will all benefit from en-suite facilities, the design of the hospital means patients won’t have to walk long distances and there will be multi-use rooms on the ground floor that will be available for community groups to deliver healthcare related activities.

Lord O’Shaughnessy found out more about how the day-to-day work of the hospital was being maintained during the redevelopment, how the construction work was progressing and how surplus land would be used for other projects such as affordable housing and education, for the benefit of the community.

He said: “I have learned a lot from this visit and take away a lot, I’m particularly thinking about what we can do to get more of these projects going. This build has clearly involved strong trust and clinical leadership every step of the way. Now we need to see what the NHS can learn from Chase Farm’s experience and how the government can help smooth the way for more of this kind of transformation.”

Natalie Forrest, chief executive of Chase Farm Hospital, said: “Lord O’Shaughnessy wanted to understand first and foremost how the Trust had been able to use its resources for the benefit of providing a new hospital for the people of Enfield, but also how we have budgeted for this redevelopment and delivered it at such pace. We were able to show him how our new site and new ways of working would improve the patient experience from beginning to end, but also deliver significant savings. The great thing is that doing it this way means more money can be invested in patient care.

“As we get closer to completion, excitement is building as to what the future holds for Chase Farm and I think we all recognise that we are going to be in possession of something very special which will be a source of pride for the local community but also be an exemplar on the national stage.”

If you would like to find out more about the Chase Farm Hospital redevelopment then the next public meeting will be held at The Dugdale Centre, Enfield on 11 October 2017 6.30-8pm. To reserve a place please email rf.cfhstakeholders@nhs.net

L-R: Andrew Panniker, capital and estates director, Natalie Forrest, chief executive of Chase Farm Hospital, Lord O’Shaughnessy and Sir David Sloman, Royal Free London group chief executive