Views sought on plans to merge Brighton and West Sussex NHS trusts
It would run five sites from Chichester to Haywards Heath
West Sussex residents are being asked to share their thoughts on plans to merge two NHS hospital trusts into one next April.
The Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust have already shared a chief executive and leadership team for the last four years.
Under the proposals, the single trust would run five hospitals across Sussex, caring for 1.8 million people, with a budget of around £1.2 billion.
Those are St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, Worthing Hospital, Southlands Hospital in Shoreham (all WSHT), the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath (both BSUH).
Around 20,000 staff currently work across the sites, along with satellite sites and community settings across Sussex.
Both of the current trusts hold an Outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission.
People living locally are invited to share their thoughts about the new trust's vision and values, as well its aspirations for the future, by completing a short survey on the Western Sussex Hospitals Trust website.
Chief executive Dame Marianne Griffiths said:
"As we move forwards together, our ambition is to always keep improving, and provide excellent care, every time, for our patients.
"Building on the best of each organisation unlocks many opportunities that benefit patients, as well as our staff, partners and communities in Sussex.
"As we develop these plans, please share your thoughts on our vision and values, as well as your hopes and concerns for the new organisation and the services we provide. Thank you."
Chairman of the BSUH and WSHT boards, Alan McCarthy MBE, said:
"The pandemic has taught us the value of working together. Being able to provide assistance and share resources was hugely beneficial and as one organisation we'll be able to do this seamlessly.
"A merger will also enable us to provide the very best clinical services and invest more in new ones, work better with our partners whilst ensuring all our hospitals remain at the heart of the communities they serve."
In October 2019, WSHT became the first non-specialist acute hospital trust to be awarded Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in all key inspection areas.
At the same time, BSUH became the fastest improving acute hospital trust in England and is now rated Good overall and Outstanding for caring by the CQC.
Deputy chief executive and chief medical officer, Dr George Findlay, said:
"This is not a merger driven by financial decisions, it's driven by a will to keep improving.
"By working together we have greater opportunities to learn and improve our services to make them more sustainable for the local population.
"We can also maintain more specialist services in Sussex, meaning fewer patients have to travel to other hospitals to receive high quality care."