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Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) is looking to develop the East Brighton ‘Brighton General’ site into a purpose built Community Health Hub for patients from across Brighton and Hove, and Sussex.

The Brighton General site, which is owned by the Trust, was originally built as a workhouse in the 1860s. It became a general hospital in 1948 but by 2009 the wards no longer met the relevant standards and there has not been a hospital on the site since then.

This development project gives us an exciting opportunity to redesign the site in a way that makes sense for our patients, their carers and our staff and brings our buildings and facilities up to the standard we want and need to truly provide 21st century care.

The scope for development has a much broader remit than just renovating or replacing old buildings. SCFT is working with other physical and mental health care providers to explore other opportunities that could allow us to add to and modernise existing services. For example, we are exploring with local commissioners and local people, what additional services could be provided from the site, including GP services.

The Trust has engaged with patients, the community, the public and people who work from the Brighton General site since the launch of the project in November 2017.

In 2018, we drew up a shortlist of design options for the site and asked people what they thought was important.

84% of the public and 86% of staff already consulted say they are supportive of the Trust’s vision to redevelop the Brighton General site and build a modern community Health Hub.  Over 80% supported the idea of bringing GP and pharmacy services on site.

Over half of the people who attended community roadshow events in the city about the project preferred a design option that concentrated health facilities on a small campus facing Elm Grove.

A summary of the patient, public and staff engagement that has taken place so far is available here.


Latest news

Since early 2020, work on the Brighton General redevelopment project has been put on pause while the NHS had to switch focus to dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

The Trust is now in a position to resume work on the project, our Board has reaffirmed its commitment and approved a business case for the Trust’s acquisition of the ambulance station site on Elm Grove.

South East Coast Ambulance Service has confirmed that they no longer require a community response post at this location and the land that currently houses this facility is key to our plan to build a new Health Hub with street-level access on the north-west corner of the Brighton General site. An entrance on Elm Grove will make access to clinics easier for people in wheelchairs, those who have difficulty walking and those visiting the site with young children.

We are keen to progress to developing a Full Business Case for the Health Hub project in consultation with staff, local people and organisations as soon as possible and will post updates here as and when things change.

About the Brighton General site

The site covers an area of just over four hectares - equivalent in size to four football pitches - in east Brighton at the top of Elm Grove by Brighton Racecourse.

The site currently houses a range of community, mental health, rehabilitation and outpatient services. It also accommodates a number of health service administrative and support staff. Much of the estate is used for offices or team bases for staff working in the community.

Services

Provider/s

A number of children’s physical and mental health, and social care services.

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Brighton & Hove City Council

Adult Podiatry, Speech and Language Therapy, Osteoporosis and Falls Prevention, Occupational Health

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

The Sussex Rehabilitation Centre

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Physiotherapy, Dermatology, Hand Therapy

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Adult Mental Health Services

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Various Clinical Admin/Support Teams, including Trust HQ

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Various non-Clinical Admin/Support Teams

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Finance Team

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Hilltop Nursery

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Why is development of the site needed?

The current buildings are no longer fit for the delivery of modern health and care services. Many buildings are decaying badly, are damp and provide inflexible layouts originally designed for Victorian workhouse buildings. Feedback from patients and service users has told us that clinical areas are fragmented, the site is difficult to navigate and that the overall environment is not welcoming. Buildings are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain as they age, diverting funds from our budget that we would much rather spend on frontline NHS service delivery and patient care.

A number of buildings have deteriorated so badly they have to be left empty for many years and those that are occupied are under-used. Overall the site is approximately 50% utilised.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the timescale for the project likely to be?

This is a highly complex programme of work and nothing is going to change in the immediate future. Since early 2020, work on the Health Hub project was put on pause while the NHS had to switch focus to dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

The Trust is now in a position to resume work on the project, our Board has reaffirmed its commitment and approved a business case for the Trust’s acquisition of the ambulance station site on Elm Grove.

South East Coast Ambulance Service has confirmed that they no longer require a community response post at this location and the land that currently houses this facility is key to our plan to build a new Health Hub with street-level access on the north-west corner of the Brighton General site. An entrance on Elm Grove will make access to clinics easier for people in wheelchairs, those who have difficulty walking and those visiting the site with young children.

The Health Hub project will move forward to developing detailed design plans and a Full Business Case in consultation with local people, patients and staff after approval of an Outline Business Case by NHS England and Improvement.

What benefits will the redevelopment offer?

Improved accessibility: The Health Hub’s street level entrance on Elm Grove will make access to clinics easier for people in wheelchairs, those who have difficulty walking and those visiting the site with young children.

Improved working environment for staff: The Hub will provide local healthcare staff with a modern workplace that will in turn help services to attract and retain high quality staff. By concentrating the majority of services in a single building, co-located teams will be able to work together in a way that benefits individual patients.

Continuity of services on site: All existing Brighton General patient services are expected to remain on site, with the exception of services run by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital trust plans to move them to its own estate – a move linked to the ‘3Ts’ development of the Royal Sussex County Hospital site already underway.

Better car parking: This project aims to ensure that there will be sufficient car parking spaces for staff and users of the new healthcare facility through the building of a new multi-storey car park for the sole use of staff and service users.

Better for the environment: We want the new development to improve access to the site for staff and patients in ways that are sustainable and support the local environment. We are committed to working with the Council and public transport providers to lobby for improved public transport provision to the site. We will also provide showers and cycle storage in order to encourage active travel and will incorporate more charging points and pooled electric vehicles in our planning. The project will allow for improved landscaping and the creation of new green space through its parking management strategy and we will work with organisations such as the RSPB to protect bird habitat and other biodiversity on the site.

Both the health and housing schemes will meet high environmental standards. SCFT’s award-winning Care Without Carbon team is recognised as being at the forefront of sustainability in the NHS and will be involved in the Health Hub design. In addition to the environmental benefits of including sustainable, low carbon technologies, materials and methods in the design of the site, these will also deliver a financial benefit in the form of lower maintenance costs, particularly energy usage.

More local housing: As the NHS will not need the whole site for the Health Hub, there’s potential for part of the site to contribute to meeting the city’s growing need for new housing.

New local jobs and training opportunities: The project has the potential to create hundreds of new jobs within the local economy. We will look to appoint contractors that can deliver other social benefits, such as apprenticeships delivered in partnership with the city’s local universities and colleges.

New community spaces: There are currently two community spaces identified as possible ideas to incorporate in the redevelopment:

  • The Varndean building – this is the surviving original Gatehouse and the current intention is for this to be used as a nursery for the benefit of both NHS staff and the community. It would be roughly double the size of the Ofsted 'Outstanding' Hilltop Nursery that is currently on site and would allow for an increase in nursery places.
  • A small, unused building adjacent to the back of the Arundel Building. This could be retained in order to house a community centre/café. However, it should be noted that there are other requirements that the project is likely to need to accommodate (including a possible children’s play area, which town planners would like to see included). These ideas are very much at an exploratory phase.

Whilst the Trust will not be the developer for the new residential quarter, and it is too early for any firm commitment about community resources, we will be keen to see the land released for new housing supporting community uses as well as housing development.

How has the Trust asked for the views of local people so far?

We are committed to full public engagement and so far have reached tens of thousands of people with project communications and activity. Widespread support for the redevelopment has been expressed through a public and patient survey that received over 700 responses and attendance at over 20 community events in the city. 84% of the public who took part in the survey were supportive of SCFT’s vision to redevelop Brighton General.

How will Brighton General patients continue to be involved?

The views of patients and carers will continue to be important throughout this project. A Patient Reference Group has been established and will run for the duration of the redevelopment. User groups will be established to support Full Business Case planning and patient and carer representatives will be invited to join these groups

As soon as the Full Business Case planning phase begins, we’ll be resuming a programme of community events to update local people and community.

Anyone interested in receiving updates on the project can sign up for the #BuildBetterNHS newsletter here: http://bit.ly/BGHealthHub

What about communicating with people who aren’t online?

Ahead of resuming a programme of community events, SCFT will share updates with local media and community groups.

How much keyworker housing will there be within the new development and who will own it?

We plan to include keyworker housing in the redevelopment and the balance of the housing mix on the site is something that will be worked on over the months to come. Ownership of keyworker housing is also something that will be determined further down the line – for example, it could be the NHS or a housing association. We'll also be looking at ensuring access to keyworker housing for health and social care staff as part of the overall provision.

How will historical buildings that are important to Brighton’s heritage be preserved?

The project team will be working closely with the council’s heritage advisors to ensure a development that not only addresses health needs but adds residential development to the area in a sustainable and sympathetic modern urban setting that respects the site’s Elm Grove frontage and workhouse history. The Trust is absolutely committed to the preservation of the Arundel Building, which is a landmark Grade 2 listed building that is visible in the skyline from locations across the city. Furthermore, any scheme will retain much of the curtilage wall around the Brighton General site.

Will affordable homes be built on the land released to fund the Health Hub?

The Trust is working closely with Brighton & Hove City Council to explore ways in which affordable housing can be delivered on the site, while still providing vital facilities for NHS and specialist social care services.

SCFT is very aware of the need for more housing in Brighton – and affordable homes for keyworkers, in particular – but it is important to remember that the Trust is not a housing provider, our first priority is healthcare and the quality of the environment we provide for our staff and patients.

Balancing the affordability of the Health Hub and new housing will be key for this project’s viability. Insufficient income from housing would make the entire project un-viable, meaning no redevelopment and no health, housing, economic or environmental benefits for Brighton & Hove.

Engagement with staff, patients and local community

Engagement activity has been and will continue to be phased. This ensures that stakeholders are being engaged at the right time, and being given the opportunity to genuinely be involved in the planning process.

Here is a summary of public, patient and staff engagement undertaken so far.

Public & Patient Engagement

The Trust held a public and patient drop-in event on Thursday 7 June 2018 at the Brighthelm Centre in central Brighton. The event shared a shortlist of options for how the new Health Hub could be developed and invited people to share their views and provide their preferred option for redevelopment through a survey.

Over 20 community groups were visited by Trust representatives during summer 2018, in order to canvas local views and provide information about the Health Hub project.

Trust representatives visited services provided from the site to gather views from patients, service users and their carers in 2018 and to encourage participation in the Public & Patient survey.

A Patient Forum was established in 2018 and will run for the duration of the project through which patients and carers can give their views. In addition, wider communication and engagement with patients and carers who use services currently provided from the site will continue throughout the project, using a variety of new and existing mechanisms, including open meetings, written and online updates and surveys, social media and the Trust’s website.

Staff Engagement

Assessors have spoken to representatives of all clinical services provided on the site about what their services may need, in terms of space and facilities, now and into the future.

A series of staff engagement events were held in 2018 and views on a preferred design option were collected via a staff survey.

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