This document presents a summary of what to find in the revised South East Clinical Senate report ‘The Clinical Co-Dependencies of Acute Hospital Services’ and should be read in conjunction with that report and the allied report ‘Teaching, Training and Research: Workforce Considerations for Major Service Change’.
Health care systems and their commissioners, in partnership with providers and the public, have to consider the most appropriate configuration of their hospitals so that their clinical services are adequately supported by other specialties, and they are fit for purpose, sustainable, accessible and deliver the highest possible quality of care.
Whilst there are many factors that will need to be considered in hospital configurations, the clinical relationships, and dependencies of hospital-based services on each other is key, whatever their size. Within the updated report we have also included Respiratory Medicine together with the major acute services and the clinical dependencies of these services on hospital-based services were reviewed. The four-level system for describing the strength of the dependencies was then revised accordingly: Purple (needing to be based on the same site); Red (visiting or in-reach services sufficient); Amber (patient could transfer to another hospital or site for ongoing care through network arrangements); or Green (loose or no direct relationship).