Our hospitals have always been at the heart of the communities they serve. You or your children may have been born here. You may work here. You may have had an operation or been treated for a long-term condition here. You and your family might have turned to us in an emergency.
In whatever way you know us – as a patient, a partner, a colleague or a neighbour – we want you to feel you can rely on us however, whenever and wherever you need us. In short, we want to offer Excellent Care Everywhere we provide it.
This new strategy explains what that looks like and sets out how we will deliver it over the next five years. We’re doing this now to build on the strengths of our young organisation and the early improvements we’ve made, but also to address the long-standing issues on which we’ve not made the progress we hoped.
Ambitions and commitments
In this strategy, we set out a clear set of ambitions and commitments which will make a real difference to our patients, staff, partners and wider communities.
Excellent Care Everywhere
- Providing excellent care for our patients – fast, fair, high-quality treatment for all
- Providing excellent care for our people – supporting all our colleagues to be their best
- Providing excellent care for our communities – helping local people live well and thrive
- Providing excellent care for the future – being ready for the world ahead
- Providing excellent care together – becoming one UHSussex, united for success
Achieving these ambitions will not be easy, but our patients, colleagues and partners have told us clearly what we need to prioritise as we go about it. These ambitions are summarised in each section of the strategy document, but they have in common a need for significant change: for us to think, organise and work differently to improve.
We will need to make better use of technology; improve our systems and processes to better meet the needs of patients and staff; generate more income so we can improve our services and facilities more quickly, and develop our culture so our people are supported and motivated to deliver the excellent care you deserve, wherever you need it.
We have good reason to be confident we can make this change, and to be optimistic about our future. We are investing hundreds of millions in our facilities, including a state-of-the-art new Sussex Cancer Centre. Our electronic patient record will transform how we provide care and empower patients. We are making a significant investment in developing a positive shared culture and providing the training, development and leadership skills our colleagues need.
Above all, we have brilliant people who are committed to doing the very best for their patients and who live our values of compassion, inclusion and respect every day.
Trust and transparency will be the hallmarks of how we work too. This strategy also stands against the backdrop of the continuing police investigation into historic patient deaths at one of our hospitals. We recognise the seriousness of the concerns this raises and the distress families, patients and staff may feel. Our responsibility is to cooperate openly with the enquiry, be guided by our values and do all we can to build confidence in our services. Earning that trust will be paramount in our minds as we take the steps forward this strategy sets out.
This full strategy document sets out our commitments under each of these ambitions, so you can have confidence about what we will do to make things better in the future.
Roxanne Smith, Chief Strategy officer
Read our new five-year strategy: Excellent Care Everywhere
