BRIGHTON General Hospital could be demolished to make way for housing.

South Downs Health NHS Trust says the building is no longer suitable for modern day health care and plans to transfer its services to other centres around the town. It promises patients will face minimal disruption.

The planned five-stage closure, including cutting off gas, electricity and water, is expected to take a number of years and cost more than £2 million. The trust says the cost will be more than recouped from selling the land to developers for housing. A trust spokesman said: "Some of the buildings were constructed in the last century and aren't suitable for modern day healthcare.

"That's why the opportunity for a change has arisen. It's a carefully-planned move and will take place over a long time."

The hospital specialises in

elderly and community health care

and includes mental health care and other non-emergency services, which are increasingly being dealt with in specialist clinics, for

example school nursing.

A strategy report states: "It is the common view of the regional office, local health authorities and trusts that the site should close and that there are too many hospitals in this part of the country."

The proposed closure also means a gynaecology ward, an elderly patients' ward and the Elton John Centre for HIV and Aids, all run by the Brighton Healthcare NHS Trust in rented buildings on the site, will move to the nearby Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Ian Keeber, spokesman for Brighton Healthcare, said: "We want to leave there anyway. The building is showing its age. It would take a massive investment to get it right.

"At the moment the building doesn't provide us with the facilities to give the sort of service we want.

"It also makes sense having all our services on one site at the Royal Sussex so we don't waste time and resources."

Brighton General, a well-known feature of the town's skyline, was a workhouse until Brighton Borough Corporation converted it into a sanatorium in 1881. It was renamed in 1935.

Final details, costs and type and number of houses have yet to be decided.

The South Downs spokesman said: "This is all about improving the quality of care for the community. By having our services in other locations we can be nearer the

people we serve. Selling the land will also help that end."

South Downs Health NHS Trust is considering the exact nature of the redevelopment. The board meets to discuss the proposals on Thursday. The hospital has ten wards, 256 beds and employs 1,400 staff.

Health chiefs have vowed to replace nursing accommodation wherever possible if any is lost through the demolition of the hospital.

The fact nurses training to work in Brighton can live at the hospital site has been a major factor in attracting them to the profession.

A spokesman for Brighton Health Care NHS Trust, which runs the hospital with South Downs Health NHS Trust, recognised the importance of accommodation for nurses in training. He said: "We would try to re-provide that accommodation wherever we could. It is a major factor."

The hospital is not the only accommodation for nurses in training in the town, but provides a

substantial proportion of living facilities.

A spokesman for South Downs Health NHS Trust confirmed no planning applications for the site had been received, leaving it open for a range of possible housing or retail developments. She said: "I would not expect to see anything startling on the site in the near future."

Final decisions about where medical services and staff accommodation will be offered will be discussed by the two trusts during the next four years.

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