Secretary of State visits East Sussex Healthcare Trust

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Hunt, visited East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust to share with staff his plans for improving patient safety and reducing avoidable harm across the NHS and to hear about the improvements that the Trust is making in these areas.

Chief Executive Dr Adrian Bull and Chairman David Clayton-Smith welcomed Jeremy Hunt and Martin Bromiley, founder of the Clinical Human Factors Group. Martin shared his personal story of his wife’s death following a routine operation. Director of Nursing, Vikki Carruth, and Assistant Medical Director, Dr James Wilkinson, gave a presentation on the work the Trust is undertaking to change the culture around patient safely and some of the improvements it has made.

This visit was part of a series of informal private visits the Secretary of State for Health is making to hospitals across the country to set out his vision for patient safety and to talk to staff about their work.

Speaking about his visit, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt said:

“I was impressed by the excellent work to focus on mortality rates and falls that I saw yesterday at Eastbourne District General Hospital. As with everything in the NHS there is always more to do, but I have no doubt that staff are working hard to make sure patients get the best possible care.”

Dr Adrian Bull Chief Executive said: “We were delighted to welcome the Secretary of State for Health and Martin Bromiley to the Trust. Mr Hunt was able to hear about our journey of improvement and the significant progress we have made in the last couple of years. He shared his ambition to ensure that the NHS is recognised as being the safest healthcare system in the world.  Patient safety is a top priority for the Trust.  It was very encouraging to hear Mr Hunt’s positive comments about our work and to hear him express his thanks to members of staff for their hard work and dedication to patient care.”