Ophthalmology outpatient services at St Pancras Hospital are set to move in 2027, as part of the ongoing St Pancras Hospital Transformation Programme. The North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (NCL JHOSC) received an update on the programme at its meeting on Friday 12 September 2025.
The move is part of a broader effort to redevelop the St Pancras Hospital site and improve both mental and physical healthcare services for patients in North Central London. The primary aim of the programme is to transform and improve the mental and physical healthcare services that patients in North Central London receive. According to the Public reports pack, the North Central London Integrated Care Board (NCL ICB) is commissioning the services and is a partner in the transformation programme.
Discussions are underway between providers to minimise the impact on patients, including potentially transferring some patients to Moorfields NHS Foundation Trust, given the new Oriel building opening on the St Pancras Hospital site. The NCL JHOSC will receive further updates on these plans. The meeting information indicates that discussions are ongoing between providers to determine the new location for the ophthalmology outpatient service.
The St Pancras Hospital Transformation Programme aims to improve healthcare services in North Central London. The Public reports pack states that the NHS is committed to keeping some services, such as intermediate care rehabilitation beds, on the St Pancras Hospital site, with plans to consolidate them in the sensitively refurbished South Wing. This consolidation aims to retain the heritage of the original Victorian estate. The NHS is committed to keeping intermediate care rehabilitation beds located on the St Pancras Hospital site and is looking to bring these together in the South Wing, which will be sensitively refurbished and repaired.
Other services are also affected by the transformation programme. The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) has already moved or is in the process of moving several services to the Peckwater Centre in Camden, including the Camden community heart failure service, the Camden chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and home oxygen service, the Camden podiatry service and surgical procedures, and the Camden community diabetes service.
The North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is also planning to move services, including neurodevelopmental disorders, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and the Rivers Crisis House, as part of the transformation programme. The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL), in addition to ophthalmology, expects to move dialysis and renal outpatient services offsite in 2027, with 125 Finchley Road in Camden identified as the preferred location for the new dialysis unit. The new location will have an improved clinical environment in a modern centre, expanded capacity (with 60 dialysis stations compared to the current 42), and a unit tailored to people's needs with enhanced infection control, privacy and dignity, and anticipated better patient experience as a result. Further improvements, such as improved temperature control and acoustics compared to the current location, will be of particular benefit for older patients.
Patient representatives are being involved in the planning and decision-making processes through surveys, site visits, expert panels, stakeholder workshops, and contributing to the patient experience component of the tender evaluation process. For example, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust involved the RFL Kidney Patients' Association in site visits and setting site search criteria.
