Campaigners have written to the chief executive of Brighton’s main hospital trust urging her to share more information about bed capacity and proposed financial cuts.
Sussex Defend the NHS wrote to Marianne Griffiths, the chief executive of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, on Monday (23 October).
The letter, sent on behalf of more than two dozen organisations, suggested that the local NHS Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), was sharing less information than other STPs.
The STPs are intended to improve co-operation between various NHS and other organisations with a view to providing better care and addressing the financial challenges in the public sector.
After the letter was made public, the hospital trust said that it was increasing the number of beds at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
And one official at the trust said that its financial position was published in some detail every two months when the BSUH board meets. The new board had negotiated extra investment in emergency care and a financial cushion after overspending in previous years.
The letter said: “Dear Ms Griffiths, As you are no doubt aware detailed plans for the reorganisation of hospitals, A&Es and acute services have been released in a majority of the 44 STP footprints round England but very little information has yet been made available in the East Surrey and Sussex footprint.
“We understand that
- the report into the investigations by NHS Improvement into the BSUH and East Sussex trust was finalised at the end of April
- the now-completed STP acute care review showed a possible shortfall of 115 beds at RSCH (the Royal Sussex) alone
- the ‘capped expenditure process’ has requested further savings of £18 million, of an expected £55 million shortfall, this financial year, £9.5 million of which are to be made by Coastal West Sussex CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group)
- Bob Alexander (current deputy chief executive of NHS Improvement) has been appointed as STP chair by NHS England, with instructions to sort out the acute care problems in Brighton and East Sussex, and will start in post in the new year. In the meantime we believe Michael Wilson has agreed to continue as chair
- Provider chief executives have been working to develop specific acute care strategies to be discussed at the STP programme board in October
“As substantial changes to services will need both scrutiny by HASC (health and adult social care)/HOSC (health overview and scrutiny) committees and full public consultation, we ask that any proposed solutions are published as a matter of extreme urgency.
The hospital trust said: “Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is expanding and improving its accident and emergency provision at both the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.
“At the Royal Sussex County Hospital, we have recently refurbished and extended our Urgent Care Centre.
“A new 28-bed ambulatory care centre will open in the new year.
“Since planning permission was granted in September, we have begun preparatory ground works for our new £30 million expansion of the A&E department, including a 70-bed short stay unit.
“Construction is due to be completed in 2018.
“Alongside this expansion in capacity, a helideck for air ambulances will open by mid-2018 as part of our regional trauma centre function.
“At the Princess Royal Hospital, a £1 million refurbishment will be completed by December, creating new consulting rooms and expanded treatment and resuscitation spaces.
“These improvements will also be supported by the larger £485 million redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County site, the first phase of which is due for completion in 2020.”
The letter was sent in the name of
- Sussex Defend the NHS
- Don’t Cut Us Out West Sussex
- Coastal West Sussex 38 degrees NHS Group
- Crawley and District Keep Our NHS Public (Crawley, Horsham, Redhill and Reigate)
- Worthing People’s Assembly
- Brighton and Hove Green Party
- Eastbourne People’s Assembly
- Brighton and Hove Trades Council
- Unison Sussex Partnership Health Branch
- Eastbourne Trades Council
- NHS Support Federation
- Eastbourne Green Party
- Chichester and Bognor Green Party
- Hastings Unison Health Branch
- Hastings Trades Council
- Brighton Pavilion CLP (Constituency Labour Party)
- Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven CLP
- Unite the Union Healthcare Sciences NOPC
- Unite the Union SE Health Regional Industrial Sector Committee
- Brighton and Hove Pensioners’ Action Group
- Brighton and Hove Unison Local Government Branch
- East Worthing and Shoreham CLP
- West Worthing CLP
- Unison West Sussex County Branch
- East Surrey Green Party
When I visited the hospital for an outpatient appointment a couple of years ago, there was a public display in the Audrey Emerton Building, staffed by a couple of PR twonks from the contractors who are redeveloping the site. I got chatting to one of them, and she told me that the helipad was already completed and ready to use – but the helicopter wasn’t allowed to alight on it because local residents had opposed the planning application, over concerns about the noise.
Currently, anyone brought to the RSCH by air has to be landed at East Brighton Park, where they’re transferred to an ambulance and driven along Roedean Road / Eastern Road to A&E. Surely this delay in getting seriously injured patients into the region’s only Major Trauma Hospital is a news story in itself?