£14million heli-bad

Landing problems force 6-year delay to hospital facility

- Rosie Taylor

A £14MILLION hospital helipad is still not in operation six years after it was supposed to open.

The landing platform at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton has suffered repeated delays over safety fears.

It should have started receiving emergency patients via air ambulances and rescue helicopters in early 2018 but has been besieged by problems and spiralling costs.

Now it has been revealed its opening will be put back yet again over fears that landings could damage windows in the floors below.

The helipad sits atop the 15-storey Thomas Kemp Tower directly above a neonatal intensive care unit for premature and seriously ill babies.

Its opening was postponed last year over concerns cladding on the block could be blown off by the helicopters. Panels covering the top 32ft of the building had to be removed, checked and reattached with different brackets.

But even once the helipad finally becomes operational, it could be unusable in bad weather as the air-craft will not be able to land during strong winds, which are common in the seaside location.