Storm delays new scanners for Royal Sussex County Hospital

Neighbours had expected road closures last weekend to allow cranes – in position in Eastern Road – to be used to deliver the equipment to the new building.

The scanners were due after the first new MRI - magnetic resonance imaging - scanner was delivered and installed over the August bank holiday weekend in what is currently known as “the 3Ts building”.

The storms meant that the delivery was postponed – and the scanners are now due to arrive towards the end of this month.

The news emerged at a meeting of the Hospital Liaison Group on Monday night when neighbours raised their concerns with hospital trust bosses.

They said that signs were still in place, warning of road closures on Saturday 3 September and Sunday 4 September.

Argus readers regularly capture photographs of lightning over Brighton - this image was shot by Kevin Long earlier this year

Richard Beard, from University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex, said: “It will come as no surprise that putting up a 350-tonne crane in thunderstorms is not the best way forward.

“We’ll have to wait until the latter part of the month which will involve shutting Eastern Road.”

Mr Beard said that bringing in the MRI scanners was a “landmark” point in preparing the new building to open next year.

He has asked contractors to remove signs from nearby bus stops after one resident said that neighbours were expecting a diversion next weekend because the previous closure had not taken place.

Traffic would be diverted from Eastern Road down Abbey Road, along St George’s Road and then back up Eaton Place to rejoin Eastern Road.

Labour councillor Nancy Platts, who chairs the Hospital Liaison Group, asked about parking suspensions in St George’s Road.

Cllr Platts, who represents East Brighton ward, said that she was surprised to see drivers parked along the road during the diversion.

People also complained to her that they were not sure where they could catch buses during a previous diversion in July when the road closed so that 300 tonnes of soil could be delivered. The soil has been used to fill planters on the new building’s outdoor terraces.

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She said: “Last time around, they didn’t suspend parking along the street. You ended up with a situation where buses couldn’t go past one another because of parked cars.

“It was fine first thing on the Saturday morning as I used a bus to go that way. It wasn’t busy. Coming back at lunchtime there just wasn’t enough space for buses to go in both directions.

“If we’re going to close off Eastern Road, there needs to be some sort of action on that road when people are parking to go to the shops.”

A traffic management official told the meeting that parking should be suspended when Eastern Road was closed.

Mr Beard said that the contractor Laing O’Rourke would work with Brighton and Hove City Council on future diversions.