Uckfield Day Surgery

Recommended · This went to the meeting on Thu 17 Sep 2026. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

The Committee is recommended to consider and comment on the report and conclude scrutiny of this item. p20

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) formerly provided day surgery activity at a leased unit in Uckfield Community Hospital, limited to non-complex, non-general anaesthetic surgery not requiring an overnight stay, including vascular, maxillofacial, dermatology, ophthalmology and urology procedures. p9

In December 2025, ESHT proposed relocating all Uckfield DSU activity and staff to its two main acute hospital sites, the Sussex Surgical Centre at Eastbourne District General Hospital and Conquest Hospital, Hastings, and a six-month pilot found that nine in ten patients could access treatment closer to home without a reduced quality of treatment. p10

Having reviewed the proposals, HOSC concluded that they did not constitute a substantial variation in service requiring statutory consultation with the Committee, and requested an update report following implementation. p11

Show the 4 passages this is based on

• p91.1. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) formerly provided day surgery activity at a leased unit in Uckfield Community Hospital equipped for elective procedures under local anaesthetic. Surgery provided at the day surgery unit (DSU) in Uckfield was limited to non-complex, non-general anaesthetic surgery, not requiring an overnight stay. This included vascular, maxillofacial, dermatology, ophthalmology and urology procedures. Uckfield Community Hospital is owned by NHS Property Services and changes to the DSU did not impact other services provided at Uckfield Community Hospital.
• p101.2. The HOSC received a report from ESHT in December 2025 proposing to relocate all DSU activity and staff at Uckfield to its two main acute hospital sites, the Sussex Surgical Centre (SSC) at Eastbourne District General Hospital (EDGH) and Conquest Hospital, Hastings. The report included an overview of proposed changes to the Uckfield DSU, and evaluation of the 6-month pilot of the proposals conducted from December 2024 to June 2025. The pilot had found that 9 in 10 patients could access treatment closer to home and did not observe a reduced quality of treatment.
• p111.3. HOSC was asked to consider whether the proposals constituted a substantial variation to health service provision under health scrutiny legislation, requiring formal consultation with the HOSC. Having reviewed a report and discussing the proposed changes, the HOSC agreed that the proposals did not constitute a substantial variation in service and therefore did not require statutory consultation with the HOSC. The Committee requested to receive an update report following implementation for assurance.
• p203.1. The Committee is recommended to consider and comment on the report and conclude scrutiny of this item.