Bexhill mental health hospital gets green light

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said construction would begin next year

Plans for a new mental health hospital in Bexhill which will modernise inpatient facilities have been approved by Rother District Council.

The 54-bed hospital, which will replace outdated services in Eastbourne, is being funded under a government scheme to remove dormitory accommodation from mental health facilities.

Sussex Partnership NHS Trust said construction would begin next year.

Programme director Paula Kirkland said it was a major milestone.

She said the scheme was part of a wider vision to create new facilities and address all inpatient mental health needs on one site.

At a planning meeting on Thursday, Rother District Council also granted outline planning permission for a second phase on the same site in Mount View Street.

The second phase could potentially provide a further 72 beds, depending on further funding in the future, the NHS trust said.

Dr Andrew Hodson, local Medical Director for East Sussex and Mental Health Lead for NHS Sussex, said: "The new hospital will not only remove out-dated dormitory accommodation, replacing the current shared wards with individual rooms, each with en-suite bathrooms, it will also provide a modern and improved therapeutic environment for patients and create enough capacity to meet future inpatient needs."

Planning committee chairwoman councillor Susan Prochak said the authority strongly welcomed the investment in services, adding there was "a real need to ensure that people are able to access the best care in the best facilities as close to home as possible".

The hospital is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025.