Brighton and Hove Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee
June 2026 v1
Introduction
NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) was formally established on 1 April 2026, bringing together the former NHS Surrey Heartlands and NHS Sussex organisations into a single ICB responsible for planning and commissioning health and care services across the two areas.
As a strategic commissioner, the ICB’s core purpose is to improve population health outcomes, reduce inequalities, and ensure the effective use of NHS resources for a population of over three million people. It works in partnership with providers, local authorities and community organisations to plan services that better meet local needs, shifting the focus from reactive treatment to prevention and proactive care.
The creation of a single ICB reflects wider NHS reforms to strengthen system leadership, reduce duplication and enable more coordinated, place-based care, supporting improved outcomes, better experience and greater long-term sustainability for communities across Surrey and Sussex.
Key updates
1. ICB update – transition and new operating model
Further to the successful launch of the new NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) on 1 April 2026, our transition programme continues, focusing on a number of non-statutory areas of work that we continue to work on and bring together. This includes areas such as culture development, ICB estates (office locations), the creation of a new digital, data and insight directorate across Surrey, Sussex and Kent, and transition of services previously provided by the Commissioning Support Units (CSUs).
We are also continuing the implementation of our new operating model and organisational structure following staff consultation earlier in the year. The new ICB will become a much leaner organisation, about half the size of our two combined organisations at the outset of this change in March 2025 and we are now part-way through the filling of posts process. To date, most senior appointments have now been made and we expect most new teams to be in place by the end of June 2026.
Supporting colleagues through this process continues to be a priority for the organisation. We have a full programme of support available – from practical support to personal support – and this continues to be well accessed. We will continue to work with those colleagues who have not yet secured a role to find suitable alternative employment wherever possible, including working closely with system partners.
2. Five Year Strategic Commissioning Plan
A focus for our new organisation has been the finalisation of our Surrey and Sussex Five Year Strategic Commissioning Plan Our five-year commissioning plan | ICB - Surrey and Sussex. Together with an Integrated Needs Assessment (INA), the two key documents set out the health and wellbeing needs of our population, and what we need to do to address these over the next five years.
Following a submission to NHS England in February, the plan and the INA will be presented to the NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board on 24 June 2026. After this, the next stage will be to design year-by-year phasing and outcome measures through a series of internal and external engagement workshops, linked to a clear evaluation framework to map and track both delivery and associated health outcomes for our population.
Last month we held a first internal workshop where we considered five key priorities for year one - the continued development of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams, outpatient transformation, urgent and emergency care, planned care and prevention. A further session is taking place this month, and this will be followed by system workshops to ensure provider and partner alignment.
We expect to engage before the next HWWBs in September and consider together how this shape future planning and assurance of the work across Surrey and Sussex.
3. Neighbourhood Health
A key foundation of our Five Year Strategic Commissioning Plan is neighbourhood health. Much work is underway across our communities to further develop our approach and implement this shift of care closer to home for our population.
Work across all of our Integrated Community Teams (ICTs) in Sussex and our neighbourhoods in Surrey is progressing well this year in line with our Commissioning Intentions. The two schemes in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme – East Surrey and Hastings and Rother – continue to progress; Crawley remains a key part of the regional scheme, and work in East Brighton has been recognised in the national NHS Excellence Awards (more below).
As part of this development, the Government has a clear ambition to develop 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035.
This will comprise a mix of upgrades to existing buildings (via public capital routes and existing capital allocations) and new build centres (based on local need, value for money and deliverability), delivered both through public capital and public/private partnerships.
Last month, ICBs were asked to develop a neighbourhood health centre pipeline, with expressions of interest for national funding (from a £50m pot) submitted to the national team.
Our teams prepared an initial baseline of proposed locations (across Surrey and Sussex), intended as a starting point for engagement and discussion – and submitted this list with 70 schemes included. These schemes reflect local insight and need and take account of the most suitable estate approaches in different areas. Following feedback from the national teams, we were asked to streamline this further in terms of prioritisation, and we await further communication on any potential national funding. In the meantime, schemes continue to be developed with wider sources of funding and partner support to enable our ambition of neighbourhood health for Surrey and Sussex.
4. System overview
Both the Surrey and Sussex healthcare systems continue to experience high demand and we continue to work closely with providers to bring colleagues together and support wider system coordination.
Attendances remain high with acute and community providers continuing to experience pressures in flow and discharge. Ambulance handover times have continued to improve as the systems support flow and alternative patient pathways are maximised where possible to get people seen in a timely fashion and in the most appropriate place.
Both systems responded with well-prepared plans to the resident doctor industrial action which took place after the Easter bank holiday weekend (7 – 13 April 2026), ensuring patient safety was prioritised. Following discussions at national level, the four-day industrial action by resident doctors due to take place from 15-19 June 2026 was suspended on 13 June 2026, with the British Medical Association (BMA) agreeing to ballot their members on a new offer. Colleagues across Surrey and Sussex worked hard to stand-down preparations that had been put in place to minimise patient disruption.
Delivering for our population
Since the last update there has been several key achievements and successes across the health and care system:
· East Brighton Team wins regional NHS Excellence Award for Neighbourhood Health
The East Brighton Integrated Community Team (ICT) has been recognised in the NHS Excellence Awards for its innovative work to improve people’s access to the care they need and reduce health inequalities - winning the South East award for Neighbourhood Health and shortlisted for the national ceremony.
The team is one of three driving forward a neighbourhood health approach in the city, focusing on the needs of the local community and identifying new ways to support people closer to home.
Local data shows higher than average Accident and Emergency (A&E) attendance and hospital admissions that could have been prevented, alongside lower uptake of cancer screening and services that support people to stay well.
At the heart of the team’s approach is the Whitehawk Health Hub, which launched in November 2024. The Hub operates a weekly open-access drop-in service, bringing together healthcare professionals and VCSE organisations at Robert Lodge - a trusted community space on a local housing estate.
Residents can access support from a wide range of professionals in a single visit, including GPs, pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health practitioners, benefits advisors and housing support services, providing early intervention and practical support for both medical and non-medical needs.
Alongside the hub, the team has also delivered outreach sessions in trusted local venues such as food projects and women’s groups - helping to reach people who may face barriers to accessing traditional healthcare services. These sessions focus on prevention and early intervention, including blood pressure checks, health literacy support, cancer screening awareness, digital inclusion and NHS App support.
Over the past 15 months, the model has delivered measurable benefits for local residents, communities and staff. The weekly drop-in service alone has supported 1,269 residents, with more than half of attendees reporting they would otherwise have sought help from their GP or acute care.
· Lung Cancer Screening Programme reaches key milestone
The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme, currently being rolled out across Surrey and Sussex, has diagnosed more than 300 local people with lung cancer since it was first launched in the region in June 2022. More than three-quarters of those patients were diagnosed at Stage 1 and 2 which widens the treatment options and improves survival rates.
Lung cancer screening is being offered to residents aged between 55 and 74 with those who smoke or have smoked in the past invited for a lung health check. To date, more than 100,000 people across the region have been invited for lung screening.
Lung screening is a national initiative being rolled out in phases across the country with the aim of reaching all eligible populations by 2030. Since its launch locally four years ago, lung screening has reached 30% of the eligible population - starting in Sussex and recently launched into Surrey.
· Sussex NHS pilot offers Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessment and support closer to home
Adults in parts of Sussex are benefiting from a new NHS pilot designed to improve access to ADHD assessment and support closer to home. The ADHD Primary Care Connect service operates across Brighton and Hove, Crawley and Hastings, offering neighbourhood-based care through local GP practice teams. The pilot was developed by Sussex Primary Care Provider Collaborative, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Sussex in response to growing demand for neurodevelopmental services.
More than 300 people have already received assessments through the service, which also provides up to 12 months of personalised support, including care coordination, wellbeing advice and links to community resources. Early feedback has been highly positive, with patients praising the speed, communication and supportive approach.
· Transforming NHS hospital care in Sussex
Two landmark milestones in transforming hospital care for people living across Sussex and beyond were marked last month. The Brighton helipad was formally opened by the first patient flown directly onto the new platform, in March 2026. At ground level, the foundation stone was laid for the Sussex Cancer Centre, the state-of-the-art facility due to open for patients across the county by 2029.
These are the latest developments in the “3Ts” project, funded by the government’s New Hospital Programme. Phase 1 was the £500m Louisa Martindale Building, Phase 2 is building a modern cancer centre on the site of the old, iconic Barry Building, and Phase 3 will be the installation of a new service yard on the site of the current cancer centre.
Elsewhere, work is also underway to develop a new and improved £50m emergency floor in Brighton, while the Trust has delivered a new centre of excellence in colorectal cancer surgery (in Worthing), and is working to open a new stroke centre (at St Richard’s, Chichester).
Across the ICB
· Elective progress at SASH
In the latest data released in June 2026, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is amongst the top 10 trusts for elective improvement, its best performance since the pandemic
It has increased the number of patients being treated within 18 weeks from 55% to 67% in 2025-26, the highest level achieved in recent years.
In the same year it has also reduced its overall waiting list by 14% - more than 7,000 patients.
· Sussex Surgical Centre celebrates Royal Opening
The Sussex Surgical Centre at Eastbourne District General Hospital was formally opened in June by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester, marking a significant milestone for planned surgical care across East Sussex and the wider region.
The Duchess toured the state-of-the-art facility, meeting clinical, operational and project colleagues whose work has shaped the Centre since its opening last year. The visit followed the same route a patient takes through the Centre, from reception and pre-operative assessment to the operating theatre and second-stage recovery – offering Her Royal Highness a close look at the patient experience and the teams delivering it.