Patient Experiences of the Sussex Surgical Centre
The patient survey covered the following aspects of their experience:
- Patient information
- Travelling to and from the Sussex Surgical Centre
- Reception
- Inside the Sussex Surgical Centre
- Discharge
- Evaluation
Key Findings
There is overwhelmingly positive patient feedback about the care and treatment people received whilst inside the Sussex Surgical Centre, and support they received around their discharge. The feedback provided by patients is very positive about their experiences of the Sussex Surgical Centre, with 90% rating their overall experience as excellent.
Patients suggested that information should include the parking next to the Sussex Surgical Centre. There was positive feedback about the parking and the drop-off/pick-up point outside the Centre.
Whilst most people reported waiting less than an hour in reception, a significant minority (36.7%) waited more than one hour, and in some cases significantly longer. Healthwatch volunteers observed the waiting area had a clinical feel. There was limited visible information for patients with additional communication needs, and no hearing loop in reception.
Recommendations
From our findings, we developed seven recommendations focusing on:
- Providing clear information and signage to the parking and drop-off/pick-up points adjacent to the Sussex Surgical Centre.
- Improving patient information inside the reception area, including information in other formats, availability of a translation service, and need for a hearing loop.
- Keeping patients informed of what’s happening when they are waiting for a long time, and installing a call bell to reception and telephone to call a taxi.
Response from East Sussex Healthcare Trust
A representative of ESHT provided the following response to our report and recommendations:
“We appreciate the feedback provided by patients and Healthwatch Sussex, which will help us continue to improve the experience of those accessing services at the Sussex Surgical Centre. Some immediate steps have been taken to address the recommendations, including:
- A poster has been produced for display in staff areas, highlighting key information and findings from the report
- Key messages from the report will be incorporated into Sussex Surgical Centre staff huddles to ensure teams are kept informed and engaged
- Quotations have been sought for additional signage.”
Next Steps
We will attend an accreditation visit from NHS England to the Sussex Surgical Centre scheduled for August 2026. We will participate in a stakeholder session to present the views shared with us in our patient survey. We will continue to work in partnership with East Sussex Healthcare Trust to explore how our recommendations may be implemented.
We will also share this report with East Sussex County Council, NHS England, Care Quality Commission, Healthwatch England and others to share this insight and support future service development.
