Lewisham Healthcare plans to increase 'market share' by 10 per cent

A trust strategy document said: “We have been working closely with our local GPs to identify services that local people currently travel to other providers to access and to understand the reasons why.

“We have identified particular opportunities to improve local access for local people in: musculo-skeletal (MSK) services, gastroenterology, gynaecology, cardiology, and general surgery. Over the planning period we are aiming to increase our share of local activity by around £4m, with the largest gains planned for 2011-12 and 2012-13.”

It added: “There are a number of services that local people will need to travel to tertiary centres for, but we believe that the best care is provided by ensuring that pathways are optimised such that they can stay closer to home for less specialised elements of the pathway and rehabilitation.”

The strategy also said: “We are working closely with King’s College Hospital to further develop our cardiology services at Lewisham so that all local people who require simple pacing can have their treatment with us, and increasingly complex pacing can also be provided here.

“This will also assist us to improve our share of local cardiology activity, contributing to our plans to increase market share outlined above.”