The trust was established as East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust on 1 April 2002, taking its current name on 13 May 2011.
Overview
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provide acute hospital and community health services for people living in East Sussex and surrounding areas. Their services are mainly provided from two district general hospitals, Conquest Hospital and Eastbourne DGH both of which have Emergency Departments and provide care 24 hours a day. They offer a comprehensive range of surgical, medical and maternity services supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services. At Bexhill Hospital they provide outpatients, ophthalmology, rehabilitation and intermediate care services. At Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital they provide Outpatient and inpatient intermediate care services. They also provide some services at Uckfield Community Hospital. Their community teams also provide care in the patient’s own home and from a number of clinics and GP surgeries in East Sussex. There are around 525,000 people who live in East Sussex and the Trust is one of the largest organisations in the county. They employ over 6,000 dedicated staff with an annual turnover of £380 million.
Performance
In December 2013 the Trust was one of thirteen hospital trusts named by Dr Foster Intelligence as having higher than expected higher mortality indicator scores for the period April 2012 to March 2013 in their Hospital Guide 2013. The Trust predicts a deficit of £19.4m in 2013-14. In April 2014High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group served 12 months’ notice on their £18m a year community services contract with the Trust because of concerns about “the access to and consistency of NHS community services”. A report to the commissioner’s March board meeting mentioned “ad hoc and unnotified” closures of the trust’s minor injury service, “inequitable access” to district nursing, and “intermittent closure” of a midwifery-led unit. The CCG says the financial problems of the Trust could mean “there is a risk that the provider may seek to take short term decisions that reduce the equitable provision of community services to save cost. Equally, there is a risk that services could be deemed, ‘unsafe’ because of staffing issues.” The CCGs in Eastbourne and Hastings are continuing their contracts with the Trust, but High Weald are putting their community services contract out to tender. The Care Quality Commission raised concerns over outpatient records and surgical practices at Eastbourne District General Hospital after an inspection in September 2014. It also found that safety and leadership was inadequate. The leaders of the trust were subsequently urged to resign by the East Sussex County Council health overview and scrutiny committee and by Hastings Borough Council. After a further CQC inspection which found a “void” between the “board perception” and “reality of working at the trust” the trust was put into special measures and Stuart Welling, the Chair, resigned. The trust paid a firm called Prederi £45,000 to help with its recovery plan. In February 2016 it was expecting a deficit of £48.7 million for the year. In March 2016 the Trust was ranked bottom in the Learning from Mistakes League. It was put into special measures in October 2016. In February 2018 it was predicting a deficit of over £56 million - just less than 15% of its total income.
