News from Sutton LINk

Get online and shape maternity services in South West London
25 November 2011

NHS South West London publishes its first online survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTNSXQK) to gather feedback on maternity services. We want as many people as possible to get involved in the review of maternity services happening in south west London as part of the Better Services Better Value review¹. Facebook discussions, live tweet chats and online surveys are all part of the new social media strategy designed to bring doctors, midwives and the public closer together to make sure we have the best possible maternity services for the future in our part of London.

How maternity services are provided can affect many different people from mums and dads to the families and friends who care about them. In south west London last year 18,500 babies were born in the four hospitals in our area, Kingston, Croydon University, St George's and St Helier hospitals. Over the next five years we expect the number of births to go up by more than 10% as more women of child bearing age move to this popular part of London.

Dr Jane Wilson, Medical Director at Kingston Hospital says "We have already launched a discussion on Facebook about the challenges we face to achieve the new quality maternity standards in south west London. We want to hear the opinions of as many mums, mums to be, dads, families and groups as possible so that we can then assess all our options fully.”

Dr Mike Lane, Joint Clinical Lead, Wandle Locality Commissioning Group says "As with all the services being reviewed under Better Services Better Value, our doctors, nurses and other health professionals want to make decisions with as much input from local people as possible. Launching this campaign online is just one way of doing this.”

No decisions have yet been made about the future of health services in south west London. Now is the time to get involved. If the review decides that we need any major changes to services, then the NHS will formally consult with the public on options for change in late spring next year.

Get involved in the discussion online at www.facebook.com/BetterServicesBetterValue  or join in our live tweet chat on Friday 9^th December 2011 from 3pm to 4pm by following us on Twitter @nhsswlondon #BSBV