Still time to have a say on proposals for mental health inpatient services in East Sussex

3 August 2021

There’s still time for people in East Sussex to get involved in a public consultation about proposals by the local NHS to improve the quality and safety of mental health inpatient services in the county.

The consultation started on Monday 14 June and will run until Monday 6 September. The proposals are to move inpatient services based at the Department of Psychiatry in Eastbourne District General Hospital to new facilities to be built on a different site.

These services could be relocated to a greenfield site next to Mount View Street, North East Bexhill, Bexhill-on-Sea, or a site around Amberstone Hospital, near Hailsham.  The Bexhill site is the preferred option.

If approved, this would be the first phase towards a potential long-term vision to create a leading centre for a range of mental health services on a single ‘campus’, which could, over time, address all mental health inpatient needs in East Sussex.

Programme Director, Paula Kirkland, said: “While we have, so far, had a good level of response - with invaluable feedback from a wide variety of individuals and interested organisations – there are still a number of opportunities for people to have their say on the proposals. 

“We particularly want to hear from service users, carers and family members, interested organisations and, in particular, those who are seldom heard or may face additional challenges in using mental health services.”

Since the consultation began, hundreds of people have completed a questionnaire, both online and in print, attended focus groups, visited pop-up stalls in shopping centres and other venues and had individual conversations. 

To find out how to get involved, people are encouraged to go to the consultation website. There, they will find the consultation document, questionnaire and other information.

A summary of the consultation document and the questionnaire are also available in Easy Read, 10 community languages and British Sign Language (BSL). 

Further information is available by contacting the consultation team:

Email: esxccg.eastsussex.mh@nhs.net

Dedicated telephone line: 0300 304 0330 (local rates apply)

Write to: FREEPOST SS1018, PO Box 530, Swansea SA1 1ZL