Capital works at Worthing Hospital, including preliminary works to make way for a new urgent treatment centre and installation of heat pumps as part of the Worthing Heat Network are due to begin at the end of July.
These improvements will disrupt parking in the main car park.
Patients and visitors
If you are coming to Worthing Hospital, please note there will be limited parking because an area of the main public car park will be temporarily closed.
There will be signs and traffic officers at the entrance barriers to redirect you to the nearest offsite public car parks, including the Council car park on Lyndhurst Road, if the Trust car park is full.
Disabled parking will remain in the main car park.
The closure also means pedestrians can access the main hospital entrance and the south wing entrance according to the yellow markings below (avoiding the closed area).
We have made every effort to minimise disruption during this period and apologise for any inconvenience caused while we improve our hospital. We will continue to monitor the impact on visitors and make amendments if required.
What are the improvements being made?
Improving our emergency care facilities: so, patients get the right care, at the right time, at the right place.
A new urgent treatment centre (UTC)
The new UTC is being built within the hospital’s Emergency Department, moving away from its current location opposite the imaging (X-ray) department. Works to prepare for the build are beginning this summer.
UTCs provide urgent medical help when it’s not a life-threatening emergency. They can diagnose and treat many of the common problems people go to A&E for.
Watch this video to learn more about UTCs.
Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC)
With the UTC moving to a new location, in its place a new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit will be built. This new area will have an expanded waiting area, a new single-storey courtyard extension with 10 consultation rooms and utility rooms.
SDEC allows specialists, where appropriate, to assess, diagnose and treat patients on the same day of arrival who would otherwise have been admitted to hospital.
Under this care model, patients with relevant conditions can be rapidly assessed, diagnosed and treated without being admitted to a ward, and if clinically safe to do so, will go home the same day their care is provided.
Watch this video to learn more about the SDEC model.
Worthing Heat Network
Worthing Council has partnered with heat network investor Hemiko to provide climate-friendly heating to every building in Worthing town by 2050.
This initiative will distribute heat from a central source to buildings in the network, so they no longer need to run gas boilers or electric heaters. In Worthing, this energy will come from large-scale air heat pumps and the capture of waste heat.
Being part of the network will help to heat Worthing Hospital more efficiently and with fewer carbon emissions, as part of the Trust commitment to the Patient First, Planet First green plan. It will also allow homes and businesses across the town to benefit from greener energy too.
Heat networks are more environmentally friendly because they work at scale, they are more efficient and tap into larger district networks – saving fuel and carbon.
They have economic benefits too, by reducing maintenance visits, fuel costs and insurance inspections that will overall save money and help to ensure the sustainability of our services.
Talking about both projects, Stephen Mardlin, Worthing Hospital Director said:
“I am really pleased to see these projects in action to enhance our ability to provide efficient patient care with the expansion of our UTC and by playing an important part in improving the health of our patients, the environment and the wider community with the heat network.”