East Sussex CCG to resume public consultation into the future of Eastbourne Station Health Centre

A statement from NHS East Sussex CCG

At its public meeting (held virtually) yesterday, our Governing Body endorsed a proposal to resume the public consultation into the future of Eastbourne Station Health Centre. The consultation will therefore begin again on Monday 3 August and it will end on Monday 14 September.

Our original consultation period was due to last 12 weeks. Pausing the consultation because of Covid-19 meant that we were only able to complete 8 weeks and 1 day of the consultation. We want to ensure as many people have the chance to give their views as possible so this second phase of the consultation will run for a period of six weeks. This will make the total consultation period time 14 weeks and 1 day.

We have reviewed all the feedback and comments received so far from the first part of our consultation – from our online survey, the paper surveys posted back to Opinion Research Services (the organisation appointed by the CCG to manage the consultation feedback and questionnaire responses, and to faithfully report the outcomes), and the face-to-face engagement we undertook before lockdown began. This information provides a firm basis as we resume the consultation and we are confident that we can build on this as we restart the consultation for its ‘second phase’, following the pause because of Covid-19.

The feedback received so far, and the feedback we subsequently receive when we resume the consultation process, will all be assessed before any decision is made.

We will also continue to assess any new information that becomes available during the consultation period, as well as learning from how we are supporting vulnerable people such as rough sleepers and the homeless community during the pandemic.

People can continue to participate in the consultation online, as they have been able to throughout the pause. We have also recently launched a new interactive webpage where people can share stories and experiences, post questions that the team will respond to, suggest ideas about the proposal and local NHS services and see all future events and opportunities to get involved in the consultation. There are also key documents including the consultation document, summaries in different languages and British Sign Language and updated Frequently Asked Questions.

Hard copies of the consultation documents will still be available.

People can email esxccg.contactus-eastsussexccg@nhs.net or call 01273 403687 to request a copy.  Other ways of having a say and providing feedback on our proposal, while staying safe during the pandemic, will be also available – such as pre-existing events like the Eastbourne open air market and socially-distanced mental health walks.

Our website will be updated with all the latest opportunities to take part.