Chief Executive of NHS Confederation visits Evelina London Children’s Hospital

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation and Jonathan Barron, the organisation’s senior policy advisor on NHS finances visited Evelina London Children’s Hospital to hear about the impact of the award-winning children’s day surgery unit since it opened to patients nearly 2 years ago. 

Since July 2023 the state-of-the-art facility has treated over 4,000 children and young people from across the south east of England.

Housed in the new Children's Day Treatment Centre, the space-themed unit has 2 operating theatres dedicated to day surgery. Families wait less on the day of surgery as pre-surgery checks, the operation, recovery and preparation for going home is done in a seamless way in one place, on the same day.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Evelina London is doing some really innovative things and it was a privilege to visit Gubby and the team.

“There is a focus across the NHS on elective waiting lists, and we know in that reducing waits for treatment for children can make a real difference to their young lives and development.

“What I saw at the day surgery unit was amazing, particularly in that context. Its efficient design makes the most of a constrained footprint, with a racetrack design and other good practice halving the length of time children need to stay in hospital. With over 4,000 children treated since the centre opened 2 years ago, better theatre utilisation and more patients per list, there’s real progress being made to minimise the amount of time children need to wait for surgery.

“No one underestimates how scary it is for children and their families having to go into hospital. So seeing how Evelina London has created a comforting atmosphere, with its space theme, play area and constellations on the ceiling when children are given general anaesthetic is really encouraging.

“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to show me around and to talk to me about the Trust’s plans to further develop and improve services. We look forward to working with them as the plans progress.”

Ms Gubby Ayida, Evelina London’s Chief Executive said: “We were proud to show Matthew and Jonathan around our children’s day surgery unit. We talked about how we worked with children, families and staff to create a welcoming environment for children and young people and transform the way we plan and deliver day surgery. We’ve been delighted by the feedback we’ve had from families over the last 2 years. The unit has made a big impact, helping us reduce surgery waiting times and freeing up beds in the main hospital building for children with more complex needs.  

“It was also great to talk to Matthew about the work we are doing to develop the currently vacant floors in the building into treatment spaces ahead of specialist children’s cancer services coming to Evelina London and our aims to continue developing the hospital for children and young people who need us now and in the future.”