As well as our Big Conversation with patients, colleagues and partners, this strategy has been shaped by the strategic context in which it will be delivered over the next five years.
This will be a period of significant change for the NHS, our Trust and our communities. Our strategy provides the direction and focus to help us navigate this change in the best way for our patients, staff and the population we serve – and do so as part of a local health system focused on providing joined up services and doing more in the community.
A changing population
The people we serve are at the heart of our strategy. We are privileged to care for a patient population of more than 1.7 million people, and their changing needs and priorities are among the main influences that have shaped our strategy.
Overall, our population is older than that of England as a whole, and life expectancy is higher too. Between now and 2030, we will see an 18% increase in our numbers of over-85s but a decline in numbers of babies, children and people of working age. More people will continue to move into the area and more housing will continue to be built, but our population structure will still shift towards older age groups.
This change will require more expertise in the care of frail patients, while our services will also need to support the growing number of people who are living with cancer or multiple long-term conditions.
And although our population is relatively affluent compared to many other parts of the country, there are also significant health inequalities within our region. Several Sussex wards are among the 20% most deprived in England, we have some significant variations in life expectancy by area. Brighton has the country’s second largest homeless population and increasingly high levels of mental ill health.
We need to design services that meet the needs of our diverse population, making sure they are accessible, that we reach out to people who may be marginalised, and that no one is left behind as technology evolves. To ensure we are meeting the increasingly complex physical and mental health needs of our population, we will need to work even more closely with our partners in the health and care system.
A changing NHS
We will be implementing this strategy across an important period of change for the whole NHS, as set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England. The three transformative shifts in healthcare it is seeking to achieve are central to our strategy:
- Moving more care from hospitals into the community.
- Empowering patients and realising the benefits of technology by moving from analogue to digital systems and processes.
- A healthier population by increasing focus on preventing rather than treating sickness.
The priorities of the Government’s new plan are already starting to be reflected in Sussex, for example through the development of integrated community teams built around 13 places across the area, and will be supported by many of the ambitions of our new strategy, particularly in supporting our communities and equipping ourselves for future success.
A changing UHSussex
UHSussex is a young organisation that was formed during the pandemic, and which has found it hard to realise the early benefits of merger during the difficult years since.
We have made significant improvements in many areas, but our performance remains challenged in others. As a large organisation, though, we have important strengths this strategy will draw on to help us make more rapid progress again.
We exited the pandemic with some of the longest waiting lists in England. However, in 2024 we treated 19% more people than before the pandemic and achieved the greatest waiting list reduction in the NHS. We have also delivered a comprehensive improvement plan in response to recommendations from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), including important advances in our maternity care and surgical services. Some 94% of patients now rate their surgical care as good or very good, and 97% of families recommend our maternity services.
We have much more to do, though. Like many organisations across the NHS, too many people are still waiting far too long for both planned and emergency treatment; up to a fifth of our beds are routinely occupied by patients who no longer need our care. We need to continue to work on developing a positive culture across the whole Trust and on delivering consistently high-quality care across all of our services.
This strategy prioritises addressing these issues by unlocking the potential of our Trust and using our strengths to make the improvements that will enable us to provide excellent care everywhere. Our broad expertise in a wide range of services and our status as a major teaching centre, regional research leader and key partner in the Sussex health system will all help us do that.
The Big Conversation
The Big Conversation collected views of more than 5,000 people through events, workshops and surveys, producing more than 12,000 pieces of feedback from across Sussex. These voices were critical to shaping our strategy.
Patients said they want:
- Shorter waiting times for appointments, treatments, and urgent and emergency care.
- Excellent standards of patient care – receiving the most appropriate treatment, delivered by kind staff who have time to provide the care needed.
- To be listened to and receive personalised care that considers them as an individual.
- To be able to get to appointments and treatment easily, to have care closer to home, to have access to parking, and to be able to use public transport to get to appointments.
- Better communication and administrative processes both with patients, and between different departments.
Our staff said they want:
- To deliver safe, high quality and timely care, and a good patient experience is the most important thing.
- Simpler, joined-up IT systems that are the same across the whole of UHSussex to help treat patients safely and effectively.
- To be known for innovation, and for research to bring benefits for patients and staff.
- To work in thriving hospitals as part of strong NHS services, with all our sites recognised as important.
- To feel valued and fairly treated by a trust which is better at the basics – pay, conditions, working environment, management and decision making.
Our partners said they want to:
- Be able to share and receive patient information more easily, with less duplication, to improve patient care and safety.
- See thriving hospitals with staff able to provide high quality care, building on the excellent work they see UHSussex frequently deliver.
- Have shared strategic goals and joined up delivery of better access, faster discharges, reduced health inequalities.
- Work with us to help our communities, but find that hard because we are such a large and complex organisation.
UHSussex in numbers
UHSussex provides acute and tertiary services to people in Brighton and Hove, West, and parts of East Sussex. The Trust runs seven hospitals as well as satellite sites across Brighton and Hove, West and Mid Sussex and parts of East Sussex.
View the full Excellent Care Everywhere strategy 2025-2030
