On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, in Prime Minister’s Questions Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when new hospitals would be built and mentioned Eastbourne directly.
A Lib Dem spokesperson said ‘reports surfaced’ that Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH) staff were told the town ‘would not get a hospital’.
Eastbourne’s new hospital: What’s happening?
To this, an East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust spokesperson said: “We continue to work with the New Hospital Programme on plans for our Eastbourne, Conquest and Bexhill sites. Claims that we have told staff otherwise are untrue. The trust’s scheme is in cohort 4 of the New Hospital Programme and the programme has a target for all new hospitals to be built by 2030.”
Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell explained that there is a team at the trust dedicated to developing these plans for the hospital.
She added: “We are going to have a once-in-a-generation investment in our healthcare here in Eastbourne.”
A source told the Herald at the time that the suggestion of Eastbourne getting a new hospital was ‘a fairy tale’.
A spokesperson for the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said at the time: “We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England New Hospital Programme on our Outline Business Case with the scheme due to be delivered in the latter half of this decade.
"At this stage a range of options are under consideration which include new buildings and refurbishment at Eastbourne DGH.”
Mrs Ansell said several options were being looked at, one of which was a new hospital.
Here’s a timeline of what’s happened…
October 2020: Eastbourne is named as one of places to get a new hospital as part of a £3.7 billion NHS funding package announced by the government. It is one of 40 new hospitals announced across England.
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.”
The DGH is part of the £3.7 billion Health Infrastructure Plan to build and transform 40 hospitals by 2030, announced by PM Boris Johnson.
July 2022: Questions circulate over whether we’re getting a new hospital or not.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told the BBC Today programme that it looked as though no new hospitals would be fully built by the next election and in the list of 48, some are entirely new facilities but the majority ‘are upgrades’.
A source told the Herald that the suggestion of Eastbourne getting a new hospital was ‘a fairy tale’.
A spokesperson for the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said at the time: “We are working with the Department of Health & Social Care and NHS England New Hospital Programme on our Outline Business Case with the scheme due to be delivered in the latter half of this decade.
"At this stage a range of options are under consideration which include new buildings and refurbishment at Eastbourne District General Hospital.”
Mrs Ansell says several options were being looked at, one of which was a new hospital. She said: “What is happening here is that several hundred million pounds will be invested in health care in Eastbourne - a huge sum that will make a huge difference to patients. Our hospital leaders will drive how this is best spent to achieve the very best outcomes for patients.”
February 2023: Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord asks about the hospital in Prime Minister’s Questions. Mr Foord asked the PM when we will see the new hospitals and mentioned Eastbourne directly. A Lib Dem spokesperson said ‘reports surfaced’ that DGH staff were told Eastbourne ‘would not get a hospital’.
To this, an East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust spokesperson said: “We continue to work with the New Hospital Programme on plans for our Eastbourne, Conquest and Bexhill sites. Claims that we have told staff otherwise are untrue. The trust’s scheme is in cohort 4 of the New Hospital Programme and the programme has a target for all new hospitals to be built by 2030.”
MP Caroline Ansell explained that there is a team at the trust dedicated to developing these plans for the hospital.
She added: “We are going to have a once-in-a-generation investment in our healthcare here in Eastbourne.”
