Proposed Diagnostic & Treatment Centre and Care Home at Woodhurst Pease Pottage
Sussex Health Care plan to open a new Diagnostic & Treatment Centre (DTC) and Care Home at Woodhurst in Peace Pottage.
Diagnostic & Treatment Centre (DTC)
The DTC is a dedicated unit that offers fast, pre-booked day surgery, outpatients and diagnostic procedures in specialties such as General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Ear, Nose and Throat, Gynaecology, Urology and Orthopaedics. This will facilitate a ’one stop shop’ approach to providing rapid diagnosis and treatment.
A daycase is a patient who comes for a specified and scheduled appointment for investigation, treatment or operation under clinical supervision, occupying a bed for part or all of that day and returning home as planned the same day. The DTC does not offer Accident & Emergency or overnight services.
The DTC embodies the best and most forward thinking practice in the design and delivery of the services it provides. Scheduled care is delivered that is not affected by the demand for or provision of unscheduled (emergency) care. Patient pathways are efficient and cost effective and services are planned and delivered with an emphasis on patient choice and convenience. Patients receive treatment that is suited to their needs and which allows them to recover in their own home. A high quality patient experience is provided, creating a positive environment that also enhances the working lives of the staff.
The DTC has been designed by specialist health care architects ensuring best practice in provision and configuration of the facilities. Clinician (medical and nursing) engagement has enabled the patient pathway to be at the centre of the design as will be explained in detail in the Design Section of this statement.
The proposed service model includes the following:
- Outpatients (consultation/examination, pre-assessment and treatment rooms)
- Specialist dental treatment
- Day surgery unit
- Endoscopy suite
- Oncology (Radiotherapy/Linear Accelerators and Chemotherapy)
- Renal dialysis
- Rehabilitation room
- Diagnostics (magnetic resonance imaging[MRI], positron emission tomography/computerised tomography[PET/CT], ultrasound, x-ray)
- Education centre and resource room for patients and health care professionals
It is anticipated that there could be up to 100 members of staff on-site at any one time. Of these, around 30 will be non-clinical dealing with administration, portering, catering, etc.
In terms of patient numbers, this is dependent on the mix of specialties and reasons for attendance, e.g. outpatients, surgery or diagnosis. However it is anticipated there will be around 65 patients on-site at any one time.
Care Home
The proposed development includes the provision of a 10 bed special Care Home providing residential facilities mainly for young people with severe physical and learning disabilities including acquired brain injury. The DTC's facilities will provide for the neurological and rehabilitation needs of these Care Home residents.
It is important that the Care Home does not have an institutional character. Its residents must be able to live with privacy and dignity. Therefore, whilst it is very advantageous for it to be sited with the DTC for access to the diagnostic facilities, it should not be too close. SHC have found that a rural setting is ideal for Care Homes providing the best environment for residents.
The care home will have 10 residents and about 15 full time equivalent staff with 10 staff on site at any one time including visiting health care professionals.
