Nick Herbert visits Royal Sussex County Hospital
Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert met with the Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust on Friday (26 November) to hear about their plans for the future.
Mr Herbert met with Chairman Julian Lee and Chief of Clinical Operations Dr Jonathan Andrews at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
They discussed a range of issues including plans for a major redevelopment of the County Hospital site and the transition to Foundation Trust status in 2011.
Mr Herbert was also given a tour of the site, including the A&E Department and the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, by Head of Estates Steve Gallagher.
The Brighton & Sussex is planning a major redevelopment of the County Hospital site, demolishing a number of buildings to make way for a trauma centre, new medical wards and better facilities for cancer patients at a cost of £400 million.
A planning application will be submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council in January, with a decision expected sometime during the summer. The Trust hopes to open the trauma centre in 2014.
The Brighton & Sussex manages several hospitals including the Princess Royal at Haywards Heath. Last year, Mr Herbert joined fellow campaigners in celebrating a hard-won victory to save A&E and maternity services at the Princess Royal when the Primary Care Trust withdrew its controversial ‘Fit for the Future' proposals.
Julian Lee commented: "We were delighted to meet up with Nick to discuss the future of our hospitals. We want to make our hospitals and services the best that they can be for patients from across Sussex and the South East of England. Working as one hospital across two sites at the Royal Sussex County in Brighton and the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath, we are committed to strengthening existing services for the populations of Brighton & Hove and Mid Sussex, and to developing specialist services across the region so that the most seriously ill or injured patients can be treated closer to home."
Nick Herbert commented: "It was very useful to receive an update on the issues affecting the Brighton & Sussex Trust and the hospitals that serve my constituents. I was particularly pleased to visit the Children's Hospital and hear about the importance which the Trust places on hospital services continuing to be provided at the Princess Royal. I raised my constituents' concerns about access and parking at the Royal Sussex, and it was interesting to hear about plans to redevelop the County Hospital site."
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. For the website of the Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, visit http://www.bsuh.nhs.uk/home/.
2. Chief Executive Duncan Selbie was unable to attend the meeting as planned due to illness.