About us
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Charity was formed in October 1996 and is registered with the Charity Commission.
With your support we raise funds to provide extra medical equipment, improve the hospital environment, provide staff welfare activities, and to fund ideas which create great experiences for patients and colleagues.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides safe, compassionate, and high-quality hospital and community care to over half a million people living in East Sussex and those who visit our local area.
The trust’s extensive health services are provided by over 8,000 dedicated members of staff working from two acute hospitals in Hastings and Eastbourne, three community hospitals in Bexhill, Rye, and Uckfield, over 100 community sites across East Sussex, and in people’s own homes.
The two acute hospitals have emergency departments and provide 24 hour a day care, offering a comprehensive range of surgical, medical, outpatient and maternity services, supported by a full range of diagnostic and therapy services. A centre for trauma services and obstetrics is at Conquest Hospital, while a centre for urology and stroke services is at Eastbourne DGH. Bexhill Hospital offers a range of outpatient, day surgery, rehabilitation, and intermediate care services. At Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital the trust provides outpatients, rehabilitation, and intermediate services. Uckfield Community Hospital provides day surgery and outpatient care.
In the community, the trust delivers services that focus on people with long term conditions living well outside hospital, through our integrated locality teams working with district and community nursing teams. Community members of staff also provide care to patients in their homes and from several clinics, health centres and GP surgeries. Find out more about the trust by visiting their website.
Our aims as a charity
Objective 1
Enhance the patient experience throughout their time with us
Objective 2
Expand East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust’s capacity to provide care and improve health outcomes
Objective 3
Support staff wellbeing in our hospitals and community services
Our key pillars
Supporting patient care will be at the heart of everything we do. On top of our existing activities, we will develop new ways of working in order to be more agile and reactive to the Trust’s operational demands. We will redesign our small grants programme to focus on patient care improvements.
Creating the right workplace is key to improving patient care. We will develop further opportunities to support NHS teams in transforming the way their services are delivered. We will help provide extra capital funding to support transformative projects aligned with the trust’s strategic priorities.
We aim to provide support for better working conditions for staff. We will work with the trust to build upon existing wellbeing activities, continue the Schwartz rounds and support further improvements to staff spaces and facilities.
Your donations
Here are some of the ways your donations have been used
It is with the help of our generous supporters that we are able to make a real difference.
Your support helps us get new projects off the ground, create calm surroundings to aid the recovery of our patients and improve well-being and reduce stress for our staff and volunteers.
We want our staff and volunteers to flourish and for East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust to be an enjoyable and rewarding place to work. We also want to create a positive experience and beneficial environment for our patients and their families, whether they are visiting us in our hospitals and clinics or we are visiting them in their homes.
As an NHS charity, we rely on donations to fund our work and everything we do is only possible thanks to the generosity and support of people like you. Every donation helps to support our incredible NHS staff and enhance the level of care we provide to thousands of patients and their families every year.
Your support helps to save and improve lives in your local community.
The energy and creativity of our supporters is incredible. Whether you want to make a donation, join our lottery, or take part in one of our fundraising events, we have lots of different ways you can us. Your support will help us realise our vision of improving patients’ lives, supporting our colleagues, and supporting the trust in delivering the best quality of care possible.
Our Vision
To improve the experience of every patient.
Our Core Priorities:
- Improving clinical services;
- Enhancing the experiences of patients;
- Purchasing equipment that will improve the care given to patients;
- Enabling services to be given to patients in innovative ways;
- Training staff; and
- Improving the welfare of staff where there is a clear benefit to patients in doing this.
Our Funds
Raising funds for our hospitals and community services
Our charity has over 100 dedicated funds for wards and other services which allows you to support the service that you want.
We also have 5 overarching funds for Bexhill Hospital, Community Services, Conquest Hospital, Eastbourne District General Hospital and a trust wide fund. which we use to support hospital and trust wide projects.
The Charity has a further 19 restricted funds, which include money received from NHS Charities Together for specific projects, and the Eastbourne District General Hospital Scanning Equipment Fund which is for the benefit of the Intensive Care and Radiology.
Our friends
Each of our hospitals is also supported by a dedicated Friends Charity. They run hospital shops, provide trolley services to patients on the wards and fundraise for their specific hospital. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Charity works closely with all the friends and is grateful for their continued support.
If you’d like to learn more about what the friends do you can contact them:
Friends of Conquest Hospital
The League of Friends of Bexhill Hospital
Friends of Eastbourne Hospital
Friends of Rye and Winchelsea Memorial Hospital
Highlights
Find out about our latest news and fundraising stories
Karen’s Coast-to-Coast Trek
Our Charity's Chair, Karen Manson, walked the talk and completed the arduous 192-mile Coast-to-Coast trek from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay coast in July raising over £1,000 for us. Karen decided to fundraise for our charity as there had been fewer fundraising...
NHS Big Tea
The NHS Big Tea is an annual event held across the NHS. Staff and members of the public hosted tea parties throughout East Sussex on and around the Birthday of the NHS in July to raise funds for the NHS. Pictured here are the Conquest Canteen staff serving tea and...
Cancer team walk for wards
The East Sussex Healthcare Cancer Team, led by Dee Daly, took part in the annual Walk for Wards from Hastings Pier to Cooden Beach raising an incredible £1,500 for their fund which supports patients during their treatment for cancer.If you’d like to walk next year get...