Phone +44 1903 205111 | ||
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Address Upper Shoreham Rd, Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6TQ, UK | ||
New homes set to be built on site of southlands hospital main tower
Southlands Hospital is based in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, England, and serves people living in Shoreham itself as well as Worthing and other towns and villages along the south coast and in the inland areas of West Sussex.
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Southlands is to be developed as an important centre for hospital services that do not require an overnight stay. This means the hospital will specialise in outpatient services, diagnostics, day surgery and other types of what is called ‘ambulatory care’, while the Trust’s eye department is also relocating to a new, purpose-built facility there.
History
The original hospital buildings were established in 1901-06 and the hospital is now part of the National Health Service. The hospital site was the former Steyning Union Workhouse built in 1835. The Workhouse had an infirmary added alongside a new workhouse building between 1901 and 1906.
The infirmary cared for wounded soldiers during the First World War, earning the Southlands Guardians the thanks of the army in 1919 for its treatment of military patients. Southlands also played a part in the Second World War, as a support unit during the D-Day landings.
Nurse training began in 1922 under the approval of the General Nursing Council, while hammocks in the casualty ward were replaced by folding beds in 1929.
Twenty years later, staff at the hospital assisted in a major incident when a double-decker bus was blown off the Old Shoreham Bridge into the River Adur.
The 1987 hurricane caused damage to buildings and grounds at the hospital and a large hut containing thousands of medical records had a wall blown out - but not a single case note was lost.
Three years later, in 1990, more than 250 patients were evacuated in the early morning after a suspicious briefcase was found. The case was destroyed by bomb disposal experts.
In 2001, the hospital was formally opened – more than 100 years late! The original ceremony, planned in 1901, was cancelled at the last minute following the sudden death of the Chairman. The Chairman in 2001, Stuart Heatherington, performed the belated duty as the hospital marked its centenary with a week of celebrations.
In 2009 the Hospital, along with Worthing Hospital, merged with St Richard's Hospital in Chichester to form the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust.
In 2014 the CQC reported that 'All standards were being met when we inspected the service.' These standards were as follows, Treating people with respect and involving them in their care, Providing care, treatment and support that meets people's needs, Caring for people safely and protecting them from harm, Staffing, Quality and suitability of management.
In July 2013 it became a Foundation Trust.
In 2016 Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WSHFT) has been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). At the time it was one of only three acute trusts in the country to receive the health watchdog’s highest rating.