The £14-million landing pad was initially built in 2018 at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and was due to open in 2019.
However, the opening was delayed due to fears helicopters could destroy the cladding on the building.
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust previously told The Argus that this cladding was fixed in September 2023 but there was still “minor construction work” to be done on the roof.
Repairs to allow the pad, which sits above the Trevor Mann Baby unit, to open began in February 2023, some four years after the cladding fault was discovered.
In 2024, the trust said further tests were needed on a number of window fixings to “ensure their integrity” after concerns landing helicopters could blow out the windows of the unit for seriously ill and premature babies.
Earlier this month, the trust confirmed that, weather depending, the helipad is due to undergo test flights by March, with the view to it receiving patients “soon thereafter”.
The Argus understands these air ambulance test flights could begin today or another day this week. However, the flights could be delayed by weather conditions or emergency call outs.
A letter has been sent to neighbours advising the air ambulance service is planning to conduct test flights this week.
Those tests remain subject to confirmation by the air ambulance service, the letter states.
This would depend on weather conditions and emergency response commitments and so plans could change at short notice.
The trust confirmed the wording of the letter, which added: “The purpose of these test landings is to assess safety and the operational pathway including staff co-ordination, equipment readiness and patient transfer procedures.
“Should the tests go ahead, we have been informed they will be brief and focused solely on ensuring that all systems function safely and effectively.”
The helipad has been built to get patients into the hospital quicker. At present helicopters use the nearby East Brighton Park to land before patients are brought the rest of the way by ambulance.
At the start of February, a University Hospitals Sussex spokesman said: “This has been a long‑running and highly complex project, involving the installation of major new infrastructure on an older building within a busy and constrained hospital site — all further complicated by the global pandemic.
“The project was agreed many years ago by a previous leadership team. Since then, subsequent trust leaders have worked hard to overcome the significant challenges associated with making the helipad safe and effective.
“We are now pleased to be approaching the point where patients will begin to benefit from the new helipad. Once operational, it will dramatically reduce transfer times for the most seriously ill and injured patients across Sussex, allowing them to be brought directly to the hospital for trauma care.”
Source link
[Featured]
[Just In]
