FOI230069: Helideck at Royal Sussex County Hospital

Released 22 May 2023

Request:

Past FOI Act Requests in relation to the RSCH helideck

I’d be grateful for a copy of those documents released to date, relating in any aspect, to the RSCH helideck / helipad.

Information disclosed:

Request reference FOI220571 – December 2022

Request:

I’m interested in the progress of the helideck beyond what has been published online.

For each of the four committees:

Systems and Partnership Committee (all those mentioning 3TS)

Sustainability Committee (all those mentioning 3TS)

Capital Investment Group (all those mentioning 3TS)

3TS programme board

For all meetings since January 2021, please provide:

All agendas for those meetings where 3TS AND the helideck were discussed
Minutes JUST FOR THOSE AGENDA ITEMS which contain reference to the helideck (including those which discuss the helideck but don’t call it that – “helipad”, “air ambulance”, “top of Thomas Kemp tower” etc)
Reports attached to the agenda items identified in (ii)

Information disclosed:

Please refer to the attached relevant extracts from the Trust’s Systems and Partnership Committee and 3Ts Steering Committee minutes and any accompanying reports over the period requested. There were no relevant minutes or reports associated with the Sustainability Committee or Capital Investment Group during this period. These meetings are private sessions which provide a safe space for Trust staff to develop ideas, debate live issues, and reach decisions. There is an expectation that information exchanged during these meetings will remain confidential. For this reason the names/initials that refer to staff who are not Executive Directors for the Trust have been redacted in line with section 40(2) exemption of the Act.

Request reference FOI220824 – February 2023

Request:

I am writing a short piece about the development of urban air mobility and would like to reference the helideck project at Royal Sussex County Hospital. Having looked on your website and on other news sources, the only information I can find is the re-fitting of the cladding on the Thomas Kemp building.

Would it be possible to provide me with answers to a few questions about the project? My questions are as follows:

What is the cost of construction?
Who are the companies involved in the project?
When is the helideck expected to begin operations?
Why was the risk to the upper 10m of cladding not considered before construction?
How will the helipad improve hospital operations?

Information disclosed:

The cost to date is £13.3 million, with a projected final cost of £14.3 million.
Laing O’Rourke is the main contractor.
The cladding work is due to complete in autumn 2023. The helideck will come into use when the final operational approvals are agreed with the Civil Aviation Authority.
Work on plans to reattach the top ten metres of the cladding on the Thomas Kemp Tower began as soon as it was identified as a risk.
The helideck will allow some of the most unwell and severely injured patients to be brought to the centre of the hospital by air ambulance, providing a direct and quicker route to the services they need.

Request reference FOI220849 – February 2023

Request:

The total cost (to date) spent on the design, construction, fitting and all other associated costs of the new helideck at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
The forecast budget / cost projection for the remaining work required on the new helideck before it opens.