Agenda item

26.1     The Committee considered a report providing an overview of progress made by ESHT on the implementation of the Cardiology Transformation programme, including in relation to the recommendations made by the Committee in its review conducted in 2022 and the response from that. Mike Farrer noted that there had been some small delays to the implementation of the programme, which was complicated by ward moves, but the cardiac response teams had been put in at both sites, and the programme was doing very well operationally.

26.2     Cllr Mike Turner raised concerns that patients weren’t able to access the stroke centre at Conquest Hospital, to be stabilised before being transferred to EDGH, and asked how ESHT were ensuring that residents were being treated as soon as possible to prevent conditions from worsening.

26.3     Professor Nik Patel, Senior Consultant Cardiologist ESHT, responded that it would be in patients’ best interest to access the stroke unit at EDGH, as this is a Centre for Excellence. In an emergency, if a patient is unstable, it is imperative that residents must go to their local A&E, where patients can then be transferred to EDGH if needed; a pre-screening call would be conducted to assess if it is appropriate to transfer stroke patients from other hospitals to the stroke centre at EDGH. The ICB were working on a pan-Sussex model of care for a single stroke service, whereby a stroke physician would instruct and deliver treatment using AI and telemedicine. He added that NICE guidelines advise that patients go to a stroke centre as soon as possible for treatment, and to go to the closest A&E if the patient is unstable. He confirmed that he was not aware of any issues in the community-to-Eastbourne pathway.

26.4     The Committee requested to be provided with information regarding the distance travelled by patients to access the service and asked how transport information was provided to patients who lacked internet access.

26.5     Mike Farrer confirmed that transport information was provided on letters to patients, as well as a phone number that could be contacted for support, in addition to the existing information on the website.

26.6     Professor Nik Patel added that the pathway for cardiology remains predominantly the same, as acute heart attacks remain directed to either Trust site. Around 200 patients are transferred to the single site at EDGH per year for angioplasty, 50% in hours and 50% out of hours. ESHT have found that staff have been engaged in delivering the transformation programme, and since 27 October 2025, 425 patients have been admitted to specialist cardiac teams at Conquest Hospital, with a response rate of less than an hour. Of those patients, around 11% (approximately 50) were discussed for transfer to EDGH for either assessment or procedure.

26.7     Cllr Mike Turner asked if ESHT had any plans to introduce thrombectomies to EDGH.

26.8     Professor Nik Patel responded that the procedure for stroke is always thrombolysis followed by thrombectomy, and patients will be transferred to a centre that conducts that procedure. Very few surgeons were able to conduct thrombectomies, due to the complexity of the surgery and expertise required, and therefore were only conducted in a select few centres nationwide. The nearest centre was located at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, which was open 24-hours on weekdays and there were plans in place for it to be open 24/7 in the next year. Local services in Eastbourne and Hastings would not be able to deliver these in the short-term, due to the national training and resource requirement for cardiologists to go through a rigorous training programme to conduct thrombectomies, but that expertise was being built. In the meantime, there were centres in London open 24/7 for thrombectomies, for cases of emergency.

26.9     The Committee asked if any monitoring was put in place for people missing appointments, and whether this might be impacted by factors such as rurality, deprivation or digital exclusion.

26.10   Professor Nik Patel confirmed that 95% of procedures remained the same, as outpatient facilities were not moved to EDGH. Only elective procedures, which comprised around 1-2% of cardiology activity, were moved sites.

26.11   Mike Farrer clarified that it was unusual for patients to not show for elective cardiac procedures, but that the Trust did conduct Did Not Attend (DNA) assessments for patients across services in the Trust. This involved assessing which groups were likely to DNA and reviewing patient feedback through the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), to ensure that no group was being disadvantaged. Richard Milner added that the data for DNA rates and waiting times could be sorted into different categories of patient (such as by gender, age, and social deprivation), to understand the groups at most disadvantage and understand the barriers to accessing appointments. The Trust would be engaging with the VCSE sector to discuss barriers to access.

26.12   The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)             note the report; and

2)             conclude scrutiny of this issue.