A MULTI-MILLION pound centre for hospital eye care is due to open this summer.

The purpose-built unit at Southlands Hospital in Shoreham will be run by Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust.

Trust consultant ophthalmologist Masoud Teimory said: “There are very few brand new eye departments in the country built to such high specifications.

“We are very fortunate to receive £7.5 million investment for this complex project that sets us apart from other trusts in the region and beyond.

“The centre will offer access to some of the very best ophthalmic assessment and surgical facilities in the country, matching our other excellent facility at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.”

The building has been specifically designed to enable one of the trust’s busiest specialties to meet rising demand and deliver high quality eye care.

It will run new one stop clinics to reduce the number of multiple hospital attendances for thousands of patients with common eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.

The unit, which opens in June, also provides more spacious and accessibility-friendly facilities compared to the current ophthalmology department at the trust’s Worthing Hospital

Chief executive Marianne Griffiths said: “Three years ago we made the difficult decision to sell part of our Southlands estate for redevelopment.

“This was in order to provide all our inpatients with access to 24hr A&E and emergency care services at Worthing and St Richard’s hospitals.

“At the time we made a pledge to ring-fence the proceeds from this sale to reinvest into Southlands Hospital.

“The development of our new eye care service marks the fulfilment of that promise.”

Plans to expand the car parking provision at Southlands to cope with increased demand are now under way.