We are proposing some changes to emergency surgical care for babies and very young children who live in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
These changes would mean babies and very young children could receive the specialist surgery and care they need as quickly as possible, without delay.
Between December 2023 and March 2024, we undertook a public consultation on how surgical care for children could be organised in a different way. We initially proposed creating a ‘centre of expertise’ for emergency surgery for young children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Having reviewed all the feedback received during the consultation period, including suggestions for alternative models of care, we have now updated one aspect of our proposals and want to hear your views.
Our proposed model of care is the same, but we are proposing that babies and very young children who need emergency surgery would be transferred from their local hospital to a ‘centre of expertise’ at The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital or The Royal London Hospital. These hospitals already provide specialist care for very young children in North London who need emergency surgery. The hospital site babies and very young children 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 would continue to treat some children who are medically and surgically complex or already under the care of the hospital. All elements of our previous proposals for children’s surgery remain the same.
Share your views
We are now carrying out additional engagement to seek views and feedback on the impact of the updated proposal for emergency surgery for babies and very young children, before we make a decision. This engagement will run from Monday 23 June to Monday 21 July 2025.
- You can find out more information about our updated proposal, why we think the changes are needed, what the potential benefits might be and the impacts too, via our Children’s Surgical Services pages
- You can share your views by completing ouronline questionnaire by Monday 21 July 2025.