15 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5JD
26 August 2014
Dear Doctor,
Update on planned closure of the A&E departments at Central Middlesex Hospital
(CMH) and Hammersmith Hospital (HH) – 10 September 2014
Preparing for closure
The Urgent Care Centres at the hospitals will continue to operate 24 hours a day, seven
days a week to see those with minor injuries and illnesses.
We anticipate that most people will continue to attend CMH and HH and be treated at the
Urgent Care Centre. If patients require the specialist services of an A&E they will be safely
treated at the nearby major hospitals who have plans in place to increase their capacity.
Northwick Park and St Mary’s are the two A&Es most likely to receive those patients.
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
Northwick Park Hospital has already opened an extra 46 beds, with a further 20 opening for
September 10. The existing CMH A&E staff will move to Northwick Park A&E after 10
September meaning more clinical staff on the A&E rota at Northwick Park Hospital.
North West London Hospital Trust is making a significant investment in new clinical services.
Three new state-of-the-art theatres opened in January 2014 and a new £21m A&E will open
in the autumn.
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust is currently reviewing its emergency referral
pathways and we will inform you of the new processes as soon as this has been completed.
This will happen before the closure of the A&E department at Central Middlesex Hospital.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is making it easier for general practitioners (GPs) to
make emergency medical referrals to all of their hospitals across the Trust, through a new
dedicated medical telephone line.
The new medical telephone line will be for urgent medical referrals only, with the exception
of haematology and renal. Use this telephone number for urgent medical referrals to Charing
Cross, Hammersmith or St Mary’s Hospitals.
For a non-medical speciality or to refer for haematology or renal, please telephone the
hospital switchboard for the specialist registrar on call at the relevant site.
The new telephone line (020 3311 8888) will be answered by a senior nurse practitioner who
can accept referrals for medical admission or access senior physician opinion. They will also
be able to advise to access to ambulatory care services. This will be the quickest way to get
the right specialist advice even in the cases where phoning you back may be necessary to
address all your needs.
NHS North West London Collaborative of Clinical Commissioning Groups are a collaboration of NHS Brent CCG, NHS
Central London CCG, NHS Ealing CCG, NHS Hammersmith & Fulham CCG, NHS Harrow CCG, NHS Hillingdon CCG,
NHS Hounslow CCG, and NHS West London CCG.
This line will initially be piloted and staffed from 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday with any calls
outside of these hours automatically transferred to the switchboard, where GPs will need to
request the specialty registrar on call. After the pilot, the line will be open 12 hours a day
seven days a week.
A leaflet is included with this letter providing you with details of the new telephone line and
you can keep up to date by visiting the GP section of Imperial’s website
(www.imperial.nhs.uk/gps). If you have questions about the referral process or would like to
give feedback please email: ICHC-tr.imperialmedicalreferrals@nhs.net
Public engagement and how you can help patients
A major public information campaign is underway which includes face-to-face engagement
with hard to reach groups, leaflets delivered to 285,000 households, outdoor advertising, a
new website and posters in public places. The public leaflet is also included with this letter.
If you are asked by any of your patients about the changes to emergency services, you can
say:
•
•
•
•
The changes to the A&Es at Central Middlesex Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital
will take place on 10 September, so until then it is business as usual.
If patients feel unwell, they should contact their GP or call NHS 111 to get advice on
the best place to get treatment. In an emergency always dial 999.
After 10 September the 24/7 UCCs at Hammersmith Hospital and Central Middlesex
Hospital will continue to see people who require immediate treatment for minor
injuries or illnesses that are not life-threatening.
Ambulances will continue to take patients to the most appropriate setting for their
need including to the Heart Attack Centre which continues at Hammersmith.
If you have any further questions, please contact your local CCG.
Kind regards
Dr Etheldreda Kong
Chair
NHS Brent Clinical Commissioning Group
Dr Susan McGoldrick
Vice-Chair
NHS Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical
Commissioning Group