SURGERY for children and babies is being moved away from Children's Hospital Lewisham.
From September 1, emergency paediatric surgery, such as surgery for newborn babies and surgery for children with complex needs or those requiring inpatient stays, will take place at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in Lambeth.
However, paediatric day surgery will continue to take place at the children's hospital in Lewisham High Street.
These changes reflect recommendations from the A Picture of Health consultation which is reviewing health services across Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley.
Evidence from the consultation suggested a longer ambulance journey to a hospital that has specialist staff and equipment is better for patients than a shorter journey to a hospital that doesn’t have the specialist facilities or staff.
Charlotte Daman is the director of women, children’s and pathology at Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust, which runs Children's Hospital Lewisham.
She said: “Specialising in paediatric day surgery at Lewisham allows us to create more capacity in our dedicated paediatric theatre suite, reduce waiting lists and minimise delays and cancellations.”
Grenville Fox, clinical director for children’s services at Evelina, said: “By co-locating all emergency and complex cases at Evelina we are able to provide a comprehensive 24-hour service for children with the most complex needs."
Existing patients at both Evelina and Lewisham have been contacted about how the changes affect them and new patients will be informed of the changes when they are referred to hospital by their GP.
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