Brighton’s Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) is set to receive a £48m overhaul to improve emergency care for patients. The investment, which has been approved, will not only enhance the Emergency Department (ED) but also upgrade the way the local NHS supports people requiring urgent care.
The planned overhaul will result in the transformation of the current ED, which is outdated, cramped, and no longer fit for purpose. It will include more space, additional resuscitation beds, and a new three-story treatment center.
The new ’emergency floor’ will be twice the size of the current A&E and include a new Urgent Treatment Center (UTC). The space will cover the current ED area, additional space freed up by other services moving into the Louisa Martindale Building (LMB), and be completed by 2028.
Dr George Findlay, CEO of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said, “Our ED teams do a fantastic job, but the environment they work in is simply no longer good enough in terms of patient and staff experience. Now, with services moving into the new LMB, we have a unique opportunity to improve the environment for our emergency and urgent care services, helping us create a better and safer place to be treated and a healthier and more rewarding place to work.”
Dr. Andrew Leonard, Chief of Service for Medicine Division, said that the expansion of the emergency floor was an exciting development, not only for patients but also for colleagues. He added that it would give them the chance to think about how they can better organize their care services in the new, larger site.
The investment for the improvement work is supported by NHS Sussex and national funding. Improving urgent and emergency care is a key area of work for NHS partners across Sussex.
Chief Nursing Officer at NHS Sussex, Allison Cannon, said, “This investment is going to have a significant improvement on the care we can provide patients who need emergency and urgent care. These positive plans show the real progress that is being made in Sussex to improve the health and care for our population and how real changes are being made for patients now and for the future.”
Chief executive of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, Alan Boyd, said, “Healthwatch welcomes the plans to redevelop the existing Emergency Department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. We have carried out numerous Enter and View visits to the department, speaking to patients and have made calls for the environment to be improved. We now look forward to working with the Trust to ensure that the patient voice is reflected. Once all the developments have been completed, we will have a modern, world-class hospital that will bring huge benefits to our city and beyond.”
