MAJOR health services are set to stay where they are, despite a planned merger of three hospitals.

NHS England is carrying out a major overhaul of local healthcare under the Mid and South Essex Success Regime in a bid to plug an expected £430million deficit by 2020.

It wants Mid Essex, Southend and Basildon hospital trusts to work closer together and share some services, but it has confirmed the burns unit at Broomfield, cardiothoracic centre in Basildon and the cancer and radiotherapy services at Southend will all remain as they are.

The assurance came in a report to Southend Council’s health and wellbeing board.

Dr Ronan Fenton, medical director of the Mid and South Essex Success Regime, who was previously medical director at Mid Essex Hospitals for five years, welcomed the development.

She said: “The current centres of excellence at each of the three hospitals in mid and south Essex provide lifesaving care, not just to the residents of Essex, but nationally in some cases. They are all great examples of how centralising some highly specialist expertise improves chances of survival and a good recovery for seriously ill patients.

“The decision not to change these centres was taken early on, strongly supported by clinicians and leaders across all the organisations in the Success Regime and welcomed by local people in focus group meetings and staff workshops.”

John Lamb, leader of Southend Council and a governor at Southend Hospital, welcomed the news, saying it would mean the centres could move forward with plans for the future.

He said: “It is good news and we are very pleased. I understand the success regime wants centres of excellence in certain localities, but this does mean that where there is some good work going on we can move forward to some degree.

“It will mean some people will have to travel further but people have accepted they have to go to Chelmsford for burns.”

Mr Lamb added: “Now we know the cancer service is staying we can start making decisions about things like scanners.

“It’s good news for Basildon too. We will have centres of excellence which will improve with the knowledge and experience of those people working together.”