Henry Smith MP has welcomed proposals outlining £19.3 million of investment in local healthcare to serve Crawley, West Sussex and East Surrey patients.
The plans will see the area benefit from a centralised pathology hub serving several hospital sites. The scheme will reduce delays in diagnosis and offer patients in the area more freedom to choose how they access services.
Henry said; “As part of a funding package to mark the NHS’s 70th birthday this year; Crawley, West Sussex and East Surrey area patients will see almost £20 million of investment going into a centralised pathology hub.
“I’ve met with the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care this week to discuss these plans further and continue my campaign for investment in Crawley’s public services.”
The scheme will build on the existing Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust joint pathology venture which already has a single management team.
The proposed three storey microbiology hub at the Princess Royal Hospital site in the middle of Sussex will bring significant economies of scale and increase productivity; delivering the core financial saving to the existing joint venture.
One of the key aims of the proposal is to provide a clinically sustainable service, linked to a teaching hospital and one which is able to attract and keep its clinical and operational workforce.
The plans are part of £760 million across forty NHS hospitals and community services announced today which are to receive funding to modernise and transform their buildings and services.
The Department for Health & Social Care have also confirmed that £150 million is being released to support the NHS’s work to become more efficient; including improved use of a digital programme that helps the NHS use its workforce better, the enabling of more efficient use of energy in hospitals which could save the NHS £12 million a year in the first three years, and improved pharmacy IT and administration systems to reduce medication errors and improve patient safety.
