Working Group submits recommendations for community hospital services in mid and south Essex

A working group set up to review proposed changes to community hospital services following the public consultation last year, has today (27 March 2025), submitted its recommendations to NHS Mid and South Essex.

The working group*, led by independent chair James Halden, was established in October 2024 after NHS Mid and South Essex paused decision-making in response to significant community feedback on the original proposals.

The proposals particularly focus on service provision at Brentwood Hospital, St Peter’s Hospital in Maldon and the Cumberlege Intermediate Care Centre in Rochford.

Upon submitting the report, James Halden stated: “There was a strong feeling that the original proposals had not sufficiently explored the range of options with the community or staff.  In respect to Maldon, the proposals to move services into an array of buildings would have been expensive, hard to manage, and inconvenient for local residents

The working group’s key recommendations were:

1. St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon: Investment to keep the facility operational for approximately five years while capital funding is assembled for a purpose-built new facility, ideally on a portion of the current site. This new facility would house outpatient services and create vital new primary care space for local GP services.
   
2. Inpatient Care: Acknowledgment that the NHS cannot efficiently operate an inpatient unit in Maldon due to low utilisation (maximum of two stroke beds needed for Maldon residents at any given time).
   
3. Stroke Services: Implementation of ‘Option B’ featuring a “split bed” approach, ensuring Southend residents who require specialist stroke inpatient rehabilitation can remain local, reducing travel burden on visiting families.
   
4. Birthing Services: preserving the approximately 14,000 pre and post-natal appointments that currently take place at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon each year while maintaining midwife led births at the William Julien Courtauld birthing centre at Braintree Community Hospital.

“So, for over 95% of all activity, the only change will be to a modern and upgraded facility, at the correct time,” noted James Halden.

I would like to thank James, and all those who have been part of the working group, for their hard work, support, and time to develop these recommendations. I am keen for the NHS and community to continue to work together to build a stronger future.

I fully appreciate both staff and the community will be keen to get clarity on the future of these community services. To ensure transparency and move our collaborative efforts forward, the working group’s recommendations will be carefully integrated into a comprehensive Decision Making Business Case. The Board will then review and consider this business case during the summer months, with the aim of making a well-informed decision about the proposed recommendations.

Tom Abell, Chief Executive of NHS Mid and South Essex

Important Next Steps

The working group’s recommendations will be presented at the ICB Board meeting in May and subsequently incorporated into a Decision-Making Business Case for consideration by the NHS Mid and South Essex ICB Board this summer.

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