2023
£400,000 for intravascular cardiac imaging in three new cardiac catheter labs
Intravascular cardiac imaging with integrated video transmission allows images to be beamed for teaching purposes. This means that cardiologists can look inside the coronary arteries, the blood vessels to the heart muscle. This makes Eastbourne one of the first hospitals to have this equipment. This £400K target has been achieved and will help make Eastbourne a state of the art cardiac centre.
2022
£500,000 for a new Da Vinci Robot for Urological Surgery
The Da Vinci surgical system gives our surgeons an advanced set of instruments to use in performing robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. Our surgeons perform surgery with Da Vinci by using instruments they guide via a console. The Da Vinci system translates our surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time, bending and rotating the instruments while performing the procedure. The tiny wristed instruments move like a human hand, but with a greater range of motion. The Da Vinci vision system also delivers highly magnified, 3D high-definition views of the surgical area. The instrument size makes it possible for surgeons to operate through a few small incisions. This allows for better patient outcomes due to minimally invasive surgery, and a shorter length of stay within the Trust.
2021
£72,000 for improvements to the Resus Area of A&E at the EDGH
The Resus Area of A&E has six bays and is where the most seriously ill or injured patients arriving at the hospital are treated. Previously, each bay was set up individually and equipment was stored across the room. This meant that staff had to leave the bay to gather the specific equipment that they needed. For their own safety, staff also sometimes had to leave the room when a patient in another bay was being x-rayed. The £72,000 raised by the FoEH funded lead-lined dividing walls between each bay. These walls have built in storage on both sides meaning that every bay can be set out in the same way and stocked with all the key equipment necessary, therefore saving valuable time in an emergency. The lead-lined walls enable staff to stay with their patient safely, even if another patient in the room is having an x-ray.
2020
£430,000 to Make Radiology Digital at the Eastbourne DGH.
The Charity raised £430,000 to replace three fixed and one mobile X-ray machine with four Digital X-ray machines. The new machines facilitate faster patient diagnosis and reduce patient exposure to radiation. They are also more eco-friendly and cost effective than the existing X-ray machines as they do not use film plates, which need to be replaced regularly. This project took longer than anticipated to complete due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its affect on fundraising.
2019
£500,000 to Equip the new Urology Investigation Suite & Enhanced Care Unit
The Friends of Eastbourne Hospital’s Special Project for 2019 was to raise £500,000 to provide equipment for both the outpatient Urology Investigation Suite (UIS) and an Enhanced Care Unit, which will provide enhanced care for urology and surgical patients.
The new unit opened on 3 June 2019 and is a state of the art center of excellence and has enhanced the Eastbourne DGH as a Regional Center for Urology Cancer Care. Patients are now seen by a doctor or a nurse specialist, have all their investigations and leave with a treatment plan, all in the same visit.
2018
£250,000 for a Trio of Special Projects:
£52,000 for a Fibreoptic Endoscope for the Swallowing Disorder Clinic
£98,000 for an Echocardiography Machine for the Cardiology Department
£100,000 for the replacement of dental surgery equipment for Maxillofacial and Orthodontic Department
The new Echocardiography Machine is now in use at the Eastbourne DGH. It uses sound waves to create moving pictures of the heart and shows the size, structure and movements of different parts of the heart and is used to diagnose heart problems. Patients are then either treated within the department or referred for urgent surgery at a specialist cardiac surgical unit.
Speech Therapists at the Swallowing Disorder Clinic are using the Fibreoptic Endoscope to assess patient’s swallowing difficulties and seeing if the cough reflex is effective to clear the airway if needed. This allows for a safe eating and swallowing plan to be made for each patient.
The Maxillofacial and Orthodontic Department has been completely refurbished in 2018 with the Trust completing building work to improve the layout of the unit and the FoEH providing new furniture and equipment. The picture here shows a new treatment area.
2017
£386,000 for a CT scanner for the new Radiotherapy Unit
The New Radiotherapy Unit is now open and has welcomed its first patients. The unit will allow cancer patients in East Sussex to be treated in Eastbourne rather than have to go to Brighton. Wonderful news for our patients at what is a very difficult time for them and their families.
What is Radiotherapy?
- Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to treat disease. It can be given both externally and internally.
- External radiotherapy aims high-energy x-rays at the affected area using a large machine.
- Internal radiotherapy involves having radioactive material placed inside the body.
- Radiotherapy works by destroying cancer cells in the area that’s being treated. Normal cells can also be damaged by radiotherapy, which may cause side effects. Cancer cells cannot repair themselves after radiotherapy, but normal cells usually can.
2016
£500,000 for a CT scanner for Radiology
With the largest Stroke Unit in the country and the renowned Pevensey Unit, the acquisition of a state of the art CT scanner is yet another step in creating an advance technological Center of Excellence for stroke and cancer patients in Eastbourne
Keeping up to date with the rapidly increasing technological advancement CT Scanning is vital for our commitment to patient care and treatment at the Eastbourne DGH. The new CT scanner will:
- Provide speedy and accurate results – vital for stroke and cancer diagnosis
- Give a wealth of clear and specific information
- Reduce the need for exploratory surgery
- Aid planning for surgery
- Give better outcomes for patients
2015
£1 million was raised for the Da Vinci Surgical Robot.
The “Da Vinci Robot” is being used by the Surgeons at Eastbourne District General Hospital to take laparoscopic (key hole) surgery to the most advanced level of sophistication currently possible. Its principle use is for patients with prostate cancer requiring major surgery, but is also being used in operations to remove a kidney or bladder. Patients with other pelvic and colorectal cancers may also be helped in the future. Guided by the surgeon, the “robot” provides a greater degree of accuracy and precision and at the same time is much less tiring for the surgeon – both physically and mentally.
This equipment would usually cost in excess of £2 million but The Friends secured it at just over £1 million pounds, a sum which would normally take several years to raise. However, the Charity was able to agree a generous lease-purchase scheme with CHG-Meridian, which enabled them to take immediate delivery.
It has been in use since February 2015, revolutionizing prostate cancer surgery and ensuring that the hospital is a center of excellence in this field.
2014
£180,000 was raised for equipment for the Acute Stroke Unit, which co-ordinates a specialist service providing initial diagnosis and treatment in the days immediately following a stroke. In 2014 Stroke services across the Trust were centralized at the Eastbourne DGH meaning better care and outcomes for stroke patients across East Sussex.
2013
£230,000 was raised towards a new Day Surgery Theater at the Eastbourne DGH. Day surgery is best defined as ‘the admission of selected patients to hospital for a planned operation, returning home the same day’; it benefits patients, clinicians and the hospital.
2012
£180,000 was raised for a new Assessment and Treatment Suite in Cardiology to identify, triage and fast track urgent patients. The new facility enables patients to be admitted directly to the unit where rapid assessment and diagnosis can be applied and urgent, potentially life-saving treatment commenced early whilst those with a less serious condition can be reassured and discharged sooner.
During 2012 the charity also raised £260,000 to equip 3 endoscopy rooms within the new Endoscopy Suite at the Eastbourne DGH.
2011
£127,000 was donated to purchase a Clinical Information System (CIS) for the Intensive Care Unit, allowing staff to deliver more effective care. The CIS centralizes and organizes patient information, making it available at the bedside, ensuring a treatment plan is tailored directly to the most up to date information available. For example, daily blood test results are sent directly to the patient’s Clinical Information System from the laboratory ensuring that results are instantly available to clinical staff, saving time and highlighting abnormal results immediately.
2010
£220,000 was raised to assist the East Sussex Hospitals Trust in purchasing a high-specification CT scanner for use at Eastbourne DGH. The hospital chose the GE Discovery CT750 HD, the world’s first High Definition CT system, which provided significant improvements to patient diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
2008-09
£500,000 was raised to enhance the New Pevensey Unit , which provides day and in-patient services for people undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and blood related illnesses. The new unit has eleven en-suite single rooms and provides patients with a much improved overall experience, increased privacy and dignity.
2007
£250,000 was raised for the installation of a Full Field Digital Mammography System and improvements to the patient environment in an area of the Radiology Department at Eastbourne DGH. The new equipment went into use in October 2007 and patients requiring Mammograms are now benefiting from the new technology in more private and comfortable environment.
2006
£400,000 was raised to fund the installation of a state-of-the-art Minimally Invasive Theatre, which was opened in at the hospital in October. The theater is used mostly for urology patients but also for colorectal and general surgery patients. Surgeons are able to perform ‘keyhole surgery’ which benefits both patients and surgeons in so many ways including, shorter operating time, better and quicker recovery, less pain and reduced scarring.
2005
£150,000 was raised for new monitoring equipment in the post operative care unit or theater ‘recovery room’. This busy area cares for 13,000 patients each year and had remained unchanged since Eastbourne DGH opened in 1976. The East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust is making radical building changes to improve the layout for improved patient care. The Friends were pleased to be able to link up with this initiative to fund the monitoring equipment for the 10 bays.
During 2005 we also funded the building of a Rehabilitation Gymnasium in Physiotherapy. The new area is specially designed and solely dedicated to patients with neurological conditions. This was part of our £250,000 face-lift for Physiotherapy, which included air conditioning in the cardiac rehab gym, improvements in the reception area and offices.
2004
The Pastoral Care Room was built at a cost of £60,000. It provides a comfortable lounge with drink making facilities plus a private courtyard. Sited near the Emergency Department resuscitation area it is used by family and friends in times of extreme stress when they need a quiet space to talk with staff and a comfortable space in which to come to terms with their situation.
2003
£160,000 was donated to purchase a 3-D intracardiac navigation system plus the setting up of a cardiology image transfer system by video link with Brighton Hospital (the area’s cardiac centre).
2002
£200,000 funded the furniture and fittings of the new Jubilee Eye Suite plus the purchase of new equipment in ophthalmology outpatients and theatre. The Action on Cataracts initiative helped in the reduction of cataract waiting lists at Eastbourne DGH.
2000/2001
£400,000 was donated to fully equip the new Resuscitation Room extension built in the Emergency Unit. This facility contains four adult bays and one neonatal bay with state-of-the-art monitors and touch screens plus a quiet room with one-way glass to allow relatives to be present accompanied by a nurse counselor.
Friends funding really does make a difference.