The hospital is currently subject to a police investigation, known as Operation Bramber, and has also recently been subject to further national media attention through the death of two-day-old Abigail Fowler Miller as a result of shortcomings in maternity care.

To help support anyone impacted, or who believes they may have been impacted, by poor standards of care at the Royal Sussex, leading lawyers from Slater and Gordon are holding a day-long event in Brighton to help families in their quest for answers.

The legal clinic will take place on February 2, from 10am to 4pm, at the Brighthelm Centre.

Appointments can be pre-booked to ensure anyone who wishes to speak to a lawyer is able to do so, but there will also be availability for people who wish to drop in on the day.

Slater and Gordon is already acting for patients with claims against the Royal Sussex and recognises that there are more patients who are likely to need legal advice in relation to Operation Bramber, which centres around allegations of medical negligence by a number of surgeons.

Although the extent of the investigation by Sussex Police has not been disclosed, reports have said this could centre around as many as 100 cases, 40 of which involved fatalities.

However, the fact that University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has not suspended the surgeons alleged to be involved, has caused widespread concern.

Furthermore, the recent inquest into Abigail Fowler Miller highlighted failures within the Royal Sussex’s maternity services, with the Coroner ruling that had better and more timely care been provided in the run-up to her birth, Abigail would have survived.

Sadly, the reality was that Abigail was delivered by emergency caesarean in the hospital foyer, after her mother – who was in labour - was repeatedly assured over the phone by maternity staff that she did not need to come into the hospital, despite her condition worsening.

By the time she was told to come in, she went in cardiac arrest during the taxi journey and was placed into an induced coma after the birth. She was woken two days later to meet her daughter Abigail, shortly before the baby passed away.

Abigail’s parents, Katie Fowler and Robert Miller, are represented by Slater and Gordon. Their lawyer, Nisha Sharma, will be attending the legal clinic in Brighton.

“There are many questions being asked about the care provided by the Royal Sussex County Hospital, and rightly so. What we know so far is deeply concerning, and patients deserve answers,” says principal lawyer Nisha, a clinical negligence specialist.

“Information on Operation Bramber is largely not forthcoming, and even those families who are affected have not been told. From the enquiries and instructions we have received so far from patients impacted by the Royal Sussex, we know that many people feel they are being left in the dark and are badly in need of support.

“By arranging this legal clinic, we hope to be able to meet with anyone affected and see how we can help. We are committed to supporting the community through what is a very worrying time in any way we can, and by being on-hand to share our legal expertise, we hope this will help to give some direction at what is otherwise a very uncertain time.”

To book an appointment at the Slater and Gordon legal clinic, which will be held at the Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton, BH1 1YD, contact Nisha Sharma on 0330 995 5687 or Nisha.sharma@slatergordon.uk