Crowds gathered with excitement as a helicopter made its first-ever touchdown on the long-delayed £14 million helipad at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. The landmark landing occurred just after 5pm on Tuesday, February 24, marking a significant breakthrough after years of delays stalled the project.
Originally built in 2018 and scheduled to open in 2019, the helipad’s debut was repeatedly postponed due to technical issues and bureaucratic red tape. Tuesday’s smooth test landing represents a major step forward, bringing the facility closer to becoming fully operational.
Hospital leaders caution that the work is not yet complete. They are preparing for rigorous emergency simulations designed to practise transferring critically ill patients from helicopters to hospital teams using dummies. These essential drills will help ensure rapid and safe handovers when every second matters.
Dr Stephanie Tilston, Major Trauma Centre Clinical Lead, said: “Today’s successful test landings bring us a step closer to making the helipad operational, so we can care for patients with the most serious life-threatening injuries and illnesses even faster than we do now. These initial landings let us test the helipad itself, aiming for Civil Aviation Authority sign-off. Next, we’ll focus on fine-tuning our emergency transfer processes — every second counts.”
Originally published by UKNIP.
