Emergency department to remain at Conquest

Following Wednesday’s meeting the following statement was issued on behalf of the NHS in East Sussex: “Local doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals care passionately about improving the safety and quality of care for the people of East Sussex.

”That is why so much work is ongoing to develop the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust clinical strategy.

“We know that local people are passionate about making sure safe, high quality services are available when they need them – this is exactly what this strategy aims to achieve.

“As part of the development of these plans we have worked with patient representatives to look at a whole range of services provided in East Sussex, and we have kept our local MPs and other stakeholders informed of the progress.

“Improvements in the quality and safety of the vast majority of services can be made without significantly changing the way we provide them. However, we believe some services do require significant change to make the necessary quality and safety improvements.

“We want to be clear and reassure local people that we are fully committed to maintaining A&E services at both Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest Hospital.

“Because of this the NHS Sussex board, working with the boards of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and the local clinical commissioning groups, will be reviewing our plans and deciding if we are ready to move them forward. We look forward to talking to local people about these proposals to improve our services.