‘New hospital’ announced for Eastbourne: ‘This is the best news for our town’

Eastbourne District General Hospital (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-200503-091949008

It is one of 40 new hospitals announced across England and has been described as ‘absolutely the best news for the town’ by the MP.

Caroline Ansell said, “This is absolutely the best news for our town and it will transform NHS services for our community for generations to come.

“It also shows this government is committed to investing in our health services and we can now look forward to a state-of-the-art hospital for patients and staff coming online in the next few years.

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“The NHS is the number one priority for local residents and this is why I have continually pushed for better health services for Eastbourne and Willingdon.

“I am beyond excited this is now about to become a reality. I cannot think of a better day for our town in many a year.”

The DGH is part of the £3.7 billion Health Infrastructure Plan to build and transform 40 hospitals by 2030, announced by Boris Johnson on Friday (October 2).

Mrs Ansell says we can now look forward to a ‘state-of-the-art hospital for patients and staff coming online in the next few years’.

Hastings Conquest will also receive funding towards new medical wards and a major refubishment, and Bexhill hospital for a new clinical building.

Reacting to the news, Joe Chadwick-Bell, chief executive at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said, “We are delighted to be part of the second phase of the Government’s Healthcare Infrastructure Project which will see a significant investment in Bexhill, Eastbourne and Conquest hospitals over the next 10 years.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the environment in which we provide care at ESHT.

“It will mean a complete redesign of our aging hospitals, taking advantage of new technologies and improvements in healthcare to ensure that we can meet the future needs of our communities.

“We have already received some funding to develop our plans and start some initial ‘enabling’ work.

“Our plans are in the early stages and we are looking forward to developing them further in partnership with local people, our patients and members of staff as part of our ‘Building for our Future’ project”.

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