City Road redevelopment

A wide-ranging review of the future of the Moorfields City Road site is underway to ensure that the Trust continues to provide the best possible services for patients.

Overseen by a project board being chaired by the chief executive, the City Road redevelopment project is looking at how the Trust can upgrade its facilities and make the most effective use of its City Road estate, in order to maintain its position as a world-class provider of ophthalmic healthcare, research and education.

Ensuring that the Trust is best placed to respond to the NHS reform agenda – including offering patient choice, meeting competition from independent sector providers and providing care closer to home – is also influencing the review.

Plans for growth

Among the key initial decisions to be taken is whether Moorfields should focus its plans for growth on its existing site or look for an alternative location. While redevelopment on or close to City Road – which is also home to the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre, the Institute of Ophthalmology and the new biomedical research centre – is believed to offer the best solution, other options are still being considered.

Commenting on the work so far, project lead, Katie Lowe, said: “Any changes that are planned will need to be informed by developments in clinical practice and service improvement programmes, and considered alongside the impact of research and development and emerging new treatments. We will need to critically evaluate the services we provide and consider where they will best be provided in the future.”

The project group, which has been consulting sub-speciality services on their needs at City Road since last October, is expected to make its initial recommendations to the Trust’s Board in May 2008.

Further information

For further information about the project, please contact Katie Lowe on extension 2564 or email Katie.lowe@moorfields.nhs.uk.