The name of the new elective surgical facility at Eastbourne District General Hospital has now been formally announced as the ‘Sussex Surgical Centre’.
The name had been chosen after a competition among trust staff who had the opportunity to put forward their choices for a name for the new facility. The Sussex Surgical Centre name is a combination of two winning entries, reflecting the role of the new centre and how it will support not just care in the Eastbourne and East Sussex areas but across the whole of Sussex.
Open from 7am to 11pm and conducting procedures from 8am to 6pm, initially five days a week before moving to six days in the future, the project will deliver a modern, purpose-built day surgery unit which will include a preassessment area, four theatres, admission, recovery and discharge space as well as support facilities. It will offer Sussex residents the opportunity to have their day surgery procedure performed more quickly and in a purpose-built environment that allows extra capacity to address both current and future surgical needs. The project has been built thanks to £22.5m from the government’s elective recovery funding.
Caroline Ansell, MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, who announced the name of the centre, said:
“I’m delighted to announce that this fantastic facility will be called the Sussex Surgical Centre. The people of Eastbourne and across Sussex deserve the very best care that the NHS can provide; the centre will deliver that excellent care, and represents a major investment by the government into our local NHS. It was very exciting to join Joe along with the estates and clinical staff at the trust to see the progress on the site and talk through the plans for how it will work in practice to deliver the care that our communities need.”
Joe Chadwick-Bell, Chief Executive of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said:
“The Sussex Surgical Centre is part of our ongoing investment into Eastbourne District General Hospital as the hub of day case surgery for the people of Eastbourne and more widely across Sussex. As well as the bricks and mortar development, we are working on new ways of delivering surgical care in the centre enabling us to see more people, more quickly. Thank you to everyone involved in the project for all of their continued hard work in improving our services in East Sussex and beyond.”
Work on the elective surgical hub is planned to be completed in Spring 2025.