Hospital helipad opens after seven-year delay

A helipad at a Brighton hospital has officially opened after seven years of delays.

The £15.5m platform at the Royal Sussex County Hospital is now operational, the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) has said.

Located 616ft (188m) above sea level, it allows air ambulances to land directly on site, saving patients an average of 11 minutes, according to the trust.

The helipad had been scheduled to open in 2019 but suffered several delays, including Covid-19 related hold-ups.

Dr Stephanie Tilston, clinical director of the Major Trauma Centre at the trust, said it was "hugely important for the most vulnerable, fragile patients".

"Bringing the helipad into operation means we no longer have to land a helicopter in a field, get the patient into an ambulance, and then drive them into A&E," she added.

"Instead, we can land them directly onto the hospital and transfer them quickly to whichever specialist team they need."

Air ambulances previously had to land in East Brighton Park and travel to the hospital by road.

David White, from Southampton, in Hampshire, became the first patient to use the helipad after collapsing on the South Downs in March.

He was at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday.

David Welch, chief executive of Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS), said the helipad was an "important step forward" to deliver the "fastest possible care to the most-critically ill and injured patients".

The UHS said that another achievement for the trust was laying the foundation stone for the new Sussex Cancer Centre, due to open in 2029.

The facility is aimed at improving treatment capacity and expanding services for patients across the county, it added.

The projects form part of the government-funded '3Ts' redevelopment programme, with work also under way to develop a new £50m emergency floor in Brighton, the trust added.

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