by Helicopters are unable to land on a £14-million NHS helipad – six years after it was supposed to open.
The landing platform for air ambulances and rescue helicopters on top of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton was due to open in 2018.
But the project has been repeatedly delayed, amid concerns that unexpected problems with the building where the helipad sits are driving up costs, amid concerns about how to ensure helicopters can land. safely in the windy coastal city.
The helipad sits atop a 15-storey tower, built in the 1960s, directly above a neonatal intensive care unit for premature and critically ill babies.
It was supposed to be a “huge boost” to the hospital’s role as the region’s main trauma center and help patients get faster access to life-saving treatment, with plans for up to 100 flights a year.
Work began in January 2016. The following year, a progress update from the developers revealed that construction workers building the deck lost most of their work time in the first two months of the year as a result on high winds.
After the project was delayed during the pandemic, the launch was delayed again last year due to concerns that landing helicopters could blow away cladding on the tower block.
Panels covering the top 10 meters of the building had to be removed, checked and reattached with different brackets.
The work to put new cladding on the building took almost a year as it could only be done when the wind speed was below 25mph.
Even when the helicopter is finally operational, it may be unusable in bad weather.
Helicopters will not be able to land there during strong winds, which are common in the hospital’s seaside location.
Project directors admitted in 2022 that “wind factors could limit landings”, and that the construction project was already being delayed by winds.
Now the opening has been delayed again due to fears that landing helicopters could damage windows in the hospital building below.
At the end of last year, surveyors raised concerns about the structural integrity of the large glass windows – “glazed curtains” – in the tower block under the helipad late last year and warned that they could be damaged by landing helicopters.
A review has been carried out and the Trust is considering what to do next.
Surveyors are also concerned about a “maintenance backlog” of issues within the building, which must be fixed before it can be considered a safe landing site.
Plans to install and test proper lighting at night have also been pushed back from last year to this spring after work was delayed by the need to repair the building’s cladding.
It is only until the problems with the windows and the “backlog of maintenance issues” in the tower block are resolved that the hospital can put in place the systems it needs to meet regulations for operating a helicopter, including recruitment and response and fire training. teams.
Speaking in Parliament in December, Lord Markham, the health minister, said: “A number of actions are required to enable the helipad to operate … In addition, a review of the outstanding backlog of maintenance issues for the block the helicopter is located. [is required]ensure that any issues that may prevent the operation of the helicopter are resolved, where possible.”
The Civil Aviation Authority will also have to carry out a final inspection and test flights before it can open.
The scale of the problems still to be overcome suggests that the helicopter is unlikely to start receiving patients before 2025.
‘Project of incomprehension incomprehension’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the situation was leaving taxpayers “between frustration and disbelief”.
“Although an air ambulance has a vital role to play, this seems like a vacuum project that has not been thought through,” he said. “Health leaders must prioritize practical solutions, to ensure funding is spent where it is most needed: saving lives in emergencies.”
Health chiefs have said the helicopter would make it quicker and easier for the most ill or injured patients to access emergency care at the hospital, which is the major trauma center for Sussex, Kent and Surrey.
The clinical director behind the redevelopment told consultants in 2022 the helipad would handle between 50 and 100 flights a year.
Emergency helicopters currently have to land more than a mile away in East Brighton Park and patients are transferred to the hospital’s emergency department by ambulance, wasting precious minutes.
The hospital’s A&E department serves Sussex residents and the 11 million tourists who visit Brighton each year. It has been rated by hospital watchdog the Care Quality Commission as “requires improvement”.
The helipad project is part of a taxpayer-funded refurbishment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, which includes the replacement of the NHS’s oldest operating hospital building, built in 1828.
The redevelopment of the site with new buildings to create an extra 100 beds was originally budgeted at £485 million, but costs have since risen to around £750 million amid significant delays.
The helicopter project initially received donations worth £1.65 million from the HELP (Hospital Emergency Landing Pads) Appeal charity, but the rest of the money came from the Exchequer.
Lord Markham said the costs of the project were “currently £14.2 million”, but it is understood the bill will rise further due to the additional works required to make the building safe.
