Hospital told it’s ‘undoubtedly causing harm’

A major emergency department described by a national team as “undoubtedly causing patient harm and distress to staff” told HSJ it believes it has started to crack some of its problems.

The review of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton — a major trauma centre for much of the South East — found it had the lowest score in England for patient flow.

It was carried out by Getting It Right First Time, which is part of NHS England.

Only half of patients waited less than 12 hours from arrival — much worse than elsewhere in Sussex — and on average they spend more than 26 hours in the department before admission, the review said. It used data from May last year, and said there had been deterioration over the previous two years.

The review, dated July 2024 and obtained by HSJ under the Freedom of Information Act, paints a grim picture based on a visit by the GIRFT team. They saw the hospital ”stacking” patients in the ED, making “infection prevention control almost impossible”, and creating a potential fire risk.

It highlighted problems with mental health patients, who often are left in its care in short stay beds because of a shortage of mental health beds.

However, since the review was conducted last year, University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust says it has taken strides to improve flow. 

“We felt we needed to invest time and effort, paradoxically, outside the four walls of the hospital,” said Mae Sullivan, operational flow manager for the trust’s eastern medicines division.

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Source: HSJ, 17 March 2025