NHS Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Board has made the following key decisions:
- Community outpatient and ambulatory care services at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon will remain for up to five years while the local NHS works to develop a new local health hub.
- A split-site stroke rehabilitation model will be introduced to improve access and reduce the travel burden, with services based in Rochford and Brentwood.
- The freestanding midwife-led birthing unit previously at St Peter’s will be permanently relocated to Braintree, with antenatal and postnatal outpatient care remaining in Maldon.
Resident absent Doctors are striking from 25 to 30 July. These are challenging days whilst the NHS attempts to maintain as many services as possible. This follows the failure of the Government and BMA to reach agreement over pay. Polls suggest the strikers don’t have so much patient and public support this time. This strike should not take place. The joint priority must be working hard to deliver the necessary changes set out in the NHS 10-year plan.
Independent academic report into “Accessibility to Healthcare Services in SWF, the Dengie & Maldon” published by SWF Health & Social Care Group.
“Huge thanks to Emily Cramb for her 1st class report. We don’t think such a report has been done before. We believe in the best places for healthcare services. As many such best places as possible should be local. But some have to be in centres of excellence to provide best quality care. If ‘best place’ isn’t local it must be accessible; with mutually convenient appointments; be able to get there and back reasonably easily by private vehicle or public transport; and be comfortable. We’ll now work with our local NHS to ensure accessibility is integrated as a vital aspect of health and social care services. We’ll promote this to the whole NHS. Integration is good; it should be wider and include accessibility.”
Read the full report at accessibility-to-healthcare-services-report-swf-hscg-warwick-medical-school-vf.pdf . Details of the challenges of accessibility from places in the area to get to the three local acute hospitals are in the Report’s Appendix 7.
The first UK death from measles for over a decade sent shockwaves around the country. The dangerous decline in MMR vaccination rates continues. Several seriously ill children were in Merseyside hospitals. A potential outbreak could “spread like wildfire”. Please get full vaccinations for measles and all other serious conditions as we’re seeing increases in many life-threatening illnesses because of reduced immunity.
The 10 Year Health Plan for England sets out steps to make the NHS fit for the future. The three ‘shifts’ are: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from treatment to prevention. Delivering as much as possible locally is a reminder of the 2008 plan; let’s hope it’s delivered this time. We must remember that the oldest, frailest patients are more analogue users than digital users. Prevention is preferable to cure. Our full article about the Plan, the local implications from it, what the Government has said about it, and the King’s Fund’s analysis is at: https://swfhealthsocial.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nhs-10-year-plan-july-2025.pdf . More Public Health news is on our website and in our weekly e-newsletters. SWF Library provides online services and helps with internet access. For welfare information and subscription to our newsletter, email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com , or leave voicemails on 01245 322079.
SWF Health & Social Care Group 