The hospital has its origins in a facility named after
Richard de Wych, a former
Bishop of Chichester, commissioned by
West Sussex County Council in 1937 and built between 1938 and 1939. At the start of the
Second World War the Government designated it an Emergency Medical Service hospital and, by 1940, ten hutted wards had been added, taking the number of beds to 594. A new children's ward was completed in February 2011. In April 2014 the maternity unit was awarded the prestigious 'level three' award under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts and in 2016 the hospital was rated as 'Outstanding' by the
Care Quality Commission although they reported that the hospital's responsiveness required improvement. ==Services==