An East Sussex councillor has criticised the uncertainty around plans for a new hospital in Eastbourne, comparing government definitions of what would count to George Orwell’s 1984.
In 2020, Eastbourne was named as one of 40 locations set to get new hospitals as part of a £3.7bn investment into the NHS.
Since then, local NHS leaders have confirmed that these plans could take the form of either a major extension or refurbishment, rather than a brand new hospital building.
Speaking at a meeting of the East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board on Tuesday (March 7), Eastbourne Old Town councillor John Ungar (Lib Dem) criticised these proposals, saying they didn’t match with local expectations.
He said:
“If you build an extension to your house, it doesn’t mean you have a new house. It is the same with a hospital. If you put an extension or a new ward that’s great, but it doesn’t mean you have a new hospital.”
“So could you tell me just straight; are we having a new hospital? Where are we with our new hospital?”
In response, ESHT chief executive Jo Chadwick-Bell said:
“The national definition of ‘new hospital’, whether you agree with it or otherwise, is either a completely new build, or it is a significant extension, or it is a significant redevelopment, i.e. it looks and feels very different from the inside.
“At the moment I can’t tell you what it is going to be because I don’t know what the [funding] envelope is. Once we know the envelope we will be able to work with the national team as to what we can do with that particular amount of money.”
The response saw criticism from Cllr Ungar, who said:
“That’s the standard answer I expected, but it sounds like 1984. New means new.”
NHS representatives have previously said the option of a total rebuild of the DGH ‘remained on the table’, but that final plans would be contingent on what funding is provided by the government.
While Ms Chadwick-Bell did not put a date on when the government is expected to announce the detailed funding plans, other local NHS representatives have previously said they are expecting it later this month.
Bexhill Hospital and Conquest Hospital in Hastings are also expected to see some new buildings and refurbishment work, respectively, as part of the wider hospital redevelopment programme to come from this funding.
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