Agenda item - Chair's Communications

3.1      The Chair gave the following communications:

We’re looking at 3 issues today. First, I’ve asked the hospital trust to come and present on their plans to reconfigure the acute floor at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. This is a major capital project that has already seen the creation of new surgical and medical assessment units. We are now entering the phase where the hospital’s emergency department is being revamped. We all know that improvements to A&E are urgently needed and I’m sure we all welcome the reconfiguration. Members will be keen to know what improvements are being made and how this will improve patient experience and the conditions that emergency department staff have to deal with every day.

 However, rebuilding an emergency department while still running services from the same building is a challenging prospect and I wanted to give members the opportunity to seek assurances that everything possible is being done to minimise the impact on patients of what will be a long and complex build. While this is the hospital trust’s project, health and care system partners have an important role to play in working together to reducing unnecessary admissions and discharge delays during the build, and members may have questions for NHS commissioners and for adult social care as well as for University Hospitals Sussex.

Second, we have an item on cancer diagnosis and treatment. This is an update requested by committee members following a presentation at last November’s committee. This item will also be led by University Hospitals Sussex.

Finally, we have our regular update from NHS Surrey & Sussex Integrated care Board on changes to the local NHS commissioning landscape.