Thank you for choosing our trust!
You may be new to the NHS, and we know that it can feel like stepping into a large and complex world. Even for seasoned NHS workers, a new trust comes with its own nuances and ways of working. These pages have been designed to give you a flavour of what East Sussex Healthcare is all about and to point you in the right direction for information that we think you may find useful as you start your new role.
What kind of trust are we?
We are one of the largest organisations in East Sussex and our extensive health services are provided by over 8,700 dedicated members of staff. Learn more about what we do and see some of our achievements over the last year.
Understanding the difference between our acute services and our community services will be helpful as you learn how your role fits into the organisation, who your colleagues are, and how your work influences patient care and helps us to deliver the excellent quality we pride ourselves on.
Acute hospital site
An acute hospital provides specialised, short-term treatment for severe or urgent medical conditions. Our acute sites are Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH. These hospitals are equipped with advanced diagnostic tools, surgical facilities and intensive care units and include:
- emergency care, which includes both our emergency departments, for serious, life threatening injury, and our urgent treatment centres
- specialist medicine eg cardiology and cancer care
- theatres
Acute hospitals are central to managing complex health needs and often serve as hubs for medical training and research.
Community services
We have over 100 community sites across the county and our community services deliver healthcare outside of the hospital setting, focusing on prevention, rehabilitation and managing long-term conditions. These services aim to keep people healthy and independent in their homes or local communities, and include:
- district nursing
- physiotherapy and occupational therapy
- health visiting
- palliative care
- virtual wards
Our community services and teams are key to reducing hospital admissions and supporting patients’ overall health and wellbeing. Find out more about why getting patients home sooner is better for their recovery.