Health care revamp at hospital

PLANS have been unveiled for a major re-vamp of Bexhill Hospital.

A million pound-plus scheme could revolutionise the way health services are provided in the town if the League of Friends is able to respond to the challenge.

Dr Peter Dewhurst, chairman of the Primary Care Trust executive committee, said changes in general practice had brought opportunities for providing services in a different way.

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"The opportunity now is for doctors not to provide services for patients in their own practices but provide them for the whole area.

"Most surgeries are overflowing and bursting at the seams."

Plans for the hospital site include doctors and nurses providing:

*Dermatology clinics

*Sexual health and family planning clinics

*Nurse-led clinics

*Obesity clinics

"All these things are in the process of being worked up and will soon be available but we do have issues about where they can be provided.

"We are also looking at working much more closely with the consultants locally, particularly in getting rapid diagnosis for patients. So bringing consultants in to work alongside the Day Hospital at the Irvine Unit. We think it will run much better with more consultant input and better diagnostic facilities.

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"But at the moment we don't have any consultation rooms for them to sit in."

The day hospital had a great team of staff but facilities were becoming out of date and the area was dark and dreary with wasted space.

"We are putting in for a day hospital that will take them into the next 20 years."

Facilities for out-of-hours services were inadequate.

"We don't have enough consulting rooms. There are often three doctors. There are two rooms and one has to use a phone on the wall to sort things out.

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"There is a lack of NHS dentistry in the town. We are looking at providing a dental suite in the Irvine Unit. That will not only provide NHS services during the week but we think out-of-hours as well,"

Some staff were working in rooms with no windows. "We are looking at re-structuring and making the facilities better for our secretarial and administrative staff...

"We are talking to the estates people about a refurbishment and probably an extension."

To cope with the extra services a new entrance, pharmacy,reception area and League of Friends shop would be needed. "Radical ideas" were needed to increase car parking to cope with the increased services, said Dr Dewhurst.

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He was speaking at the annual meeting of the League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital, whose contribution towards the cost could dwarf its 1.175m refurbishment of the Irvine Unit rehabilitation centre.

Rick Stern, chief executive of Bexhill and Rother Primary Care Trust, said: "I think what is really exciting is that whereas five or 10 years ago there was a really uncertain future for this hospital and other small hospitals the picture has changed completely.

"What we are now looking at is the biggest-ever plans for ensuring that more and more series are provided from here.

"There is a definite and vibrant future for this hospital but we need to get it right. "

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Dr Dewhurst said that because of cramped conditions, GP surgeries were unable to offer much minor surgery.

"So within the plan we will be proposing a minor surgery facility that all GP surgeries can share. That will be during the week.

We are looking at - but we are not promising - minor injury surgery as well.

"We are looking at minor injury treatment by nurses ... but there is no promise on that at all."