23/06/09

It’s your hospital – help shape the future

Ipswich Hospital's plans for the future will be under the spotlight for the next three months as local people are asked to speak out about what’s important to them.

The hospital wants patients, visitors and residents to stand up and have their voices counted as plans for the hospital’s next five years are drawn up.

A public consultation is now underway – with five big community meetings giving people their best opportunity yet to get involved.

Open meetings are being held in Stowmarket, Ipswich, Felixstowe, Woodbridge and Hadleigh in the coming weeks and hundreds of people are expected to attend.

The meetings come as Ipswich Hospital seeks to become a foundation trust. Foundation trusts are still part of the NHS but their future is driven more by local people and less by the Department of Health.

The consultation is an important part of the foundation trust process. The hospital is asking for views on its plans for the next five years including expanding cancer services, becoming a University Hospital and developing a new neonatal unit. It is also seeking views on proposed governance arrangements, which include having a council of governors from the worlds of healthcare, local government, charity and education.

Chief Executive Andrew Reed said: “We know local people have very strong feelings about the future of the hospital and the types of services we should be providing. This consultation is the ideal opportunity for them to have their say in the hospital's bright future.

“We already have more than 1,500 local people signed up as members of our hospital and we want to use that membership to change the way we work, focusing on the needs and opportunities of our core catchment population.”

The meetings are being held at:

• Ipswich's St Peter's Church on Friday 10 July at 11am.
• Hadleigh Guildhall's Grand Hall on Wednesday 15 July at 7pm.
• Woodbridge Community Centre on Monday 20 July at 3pm.
• Deben Leisure Centre, Felixstowe, on Saturday 1 August at 11.30am.
• Stowmarket's Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre on Tuesday 11 August at 2.30pm.

Copes of the hospital’s consultation booklet including large print and alternate language formats, are available by calling 01473 704769.
The booklet is also available online at www.ipswichhospital.nhs.uk/foundationtrust

The consultation formally ends on 8 September 2009.