THE NHS is urging the public to come up with a name for a new hospital building due to open to patients in the new year.

The new building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton will be home to 32 wards and departments, being moved from the neighbouring Barry Building - which took its first patients in 1828.

The £483 million project will see patients treated with state-of-the-art facilities, with five times as much space per bed in wards than in the current building, allowing for increased privacy and dignity.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said more than a million people a year will pass through the new building's doors, including patients, staff and visitors.

The Argus: The new building's entrance and welcome space is 20 times larger than the existing main entrance in the Barry BuildingThe new building's entrance and welcome space is 20 times larger than the existing main entrance in the Barry Building

Suggestions should be no more than three words long, relevant to the county of Sussex as a whole, and must be meaningful to the broad range of people that the hospital serves.

However, the Trust has warned Hospital McHospital Face will not be considered.

A spokesman for the Trust said: “Whilst we enjoy a chuckle as much as anyone, names like that won’t make it through the selection process.”

People have until August 28 to suggest a name at uhsussex.nhs.uk/shareaname.

The new name will be unveiled towards the end of the year.