NHS Sussex launches new online tool for accessing information on hospital wait times
It's part of enabling clarity for patients making choices about their care
NHS Sussex has launched a new online facility, for patients to use and find out information about waiting times for routine hospital appointments.
Patients across the county will be able to see the latest average waiting times, in weeks, for a routine first outpatient appointment, at the point of their referral.
It hopes to enable patients to make more informed choices about where they receive their care.
The new online tool features drop down menus to select which department and organisation you are searching for, and will be updated each month.
It's part of wider efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access across the local health and care system.
Chief Medical Officer for NHS Sussex, Dr James Ramsay, said:
“We know that waiting for treatment can be worrying, and that people want clear information to help them make choices about their care.
“As part of our approach to reduce the time people are waiting for care across Sussex, this new waiting times tool makes it easier for patients and their GPs to see how long they may need to wait and to make decisions that work best for them. This is another step forward in our ongoing work to improve access to planned care for people across Sussex, including maximising capacity of theatres and hospital teams, new facilities such as the Community Diagnostic Centres and the new Sussex Surgical Centre in Eastbourne.”
In the past year, the NHS in Sussex reduced the total patient waiting list for all procedures by 9% compared with the previous year.
The number of patients waiting more the 65 weeks for treatment has also drastically dropped, from more than 6,500 in 2023, to 529 by March 2025.