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Configuring hospitals
To enhance the range of secondary care services available near to patients' homes, many acute hospitals have to be reconfigured. . Guidance to be followed by all health systems embarking on service change, best practice examples and sources of further information and support can be found here. (Gateway reference 3487).
Introduction to the project
The project was concerned principally with acute hospital services, within the context of broader health and social care systems and the move to more integrated patterns of care. The main focus was on the configuration of hospitals and on the process of handling changes to configurations. The project team within the Department of Health has now disbanded, but there is limited support and advice available for organisations planning change.
Key documents
Key documents
- Guidance (Gateway reference 3487) Keeping the NHS Local: A New Direction of Travel
- Responses to consultation (Gateway reference 3514)
- Evidence File (Gateway reference 3514) Part One: Evidence underpinning the ideas in Keeping the NHS Local from peer reviewed journals from national and international sources
- Evidence File (Gateway reference 3514) Part Two: Examples of innovation and good practice from the NHS
Frequently asked questions
General questions about hospital configurations and reconfigurations, with specific references to Keeping the NHS Local: A New Direction of Travel.
Evaluation
The implementation and impact of Hospital at Night pilot projects: An evaluation report
This report describes an evaluation study commissioned by the NHS Modernisation Agency into the Hospital at Night pilot projects.
Evaluating the models
Some innovative pilot hospital sites that illustrate a range of approaches to remodelling smaller hospitals in the future.
Useful contact points
The Configuring Hospitals Team, Hospital at Night and the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.
Further sources of reference
Additional relevant policy and guidance documents and useful websites.
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