We are proposing some changes to emergency surgical care for babies and young children who live in North Central London – Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
Following a public consultation between December 2023 and March 2024 on how surgical care for children could be organised in a different way, we have updated our proposals.
Under the updated proposals, babies and younger children who may need emergency surgery would be transferred to a neighbouring hospital which already specialises in this type of care – a ‘centre of expertise’.
The proposed model of care is the same, but we are proposing to use neighbouring hospitals The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and The Royal London Hospital as the centres of expertise for babies and young children who need emergency surgery.
These sites already provide care for very young children in North London who need emergency surgery. The site they would be transferred to would depend on which local hospital they initially go to for their emergency care.
Under this proposal, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust would continue to treat children who are medically and surgically complex and/or very high risk for anaesthesia, or who receive long-term treatment for an existing complex co-morbidity at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Tell us what you think
Before we make a decision on this updated proposal, we’d like to hear your feedback and understand what impact these changes might have on local families.
If you are a local resident, parent, carer, or healthcare professional, we want to hear what you think. How would this change affect your family? What support would make a difference?
You can share your views on our updated proposals by completing our online questionnaire.
Timelines and next steps
This engagement will run from Monday 23 June to Monday 21 July 2025. After this, we will review all feedback and share a summary of what we heard and how it influenced the final decision.
If you need this information in another language, large print, Braille, or Easy Read, or need help filling in the questionnaire, please contact us via email at nclicb.startwell@nhs.net