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Health
Authorities announce plans to downgrade PRH Health authorities in West Sussex have today (Wednesday 20th June) announced plans to downgrade frontline health services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath. At a press conference in Worthing, Primary Care Trust officials announced three options for the future organisation of hospitals in West Sussex, which are believed to be as follows: Option 1 Option 1 would retain Worthing as a Major General hospital (with A&E), downgrade St Richard's in Chichester to an Urgent Care Centre and leave the Princess Royal Hospital as a community hospital. Option 2 Option 2 would result in St Richard's, Chichester being a Major General Hospital (with A&E) and both Worthing and the Princess Royal Hospitals being Urgent Care Centres (essentially minor injuries units) Option 3 Option 3 would keep St Richard's, Chichester as the Major General Hospital (with A&E), downgrade Worthing to the Urgent Care Centre and leave the PRH as a community hospital. All of the three options would result in a downgrading of the Princess Royal Hospital and the Support the PRH campaign rejects them unreservedly. Plans for maternity services remain worryingly unclear. In response to the announcement, Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said: "The public have consistently said they do not want any of their hospitals downgraded, yet their voice has been ignored. 18 months after the pretence of listening to the public, the real agenda is finally out in the open. The phoney war is over. There will be a huge fight against these appalling plans, and we will do everything in our power to voice the concerns of local people" Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert said: "The Trust is presenting a fait accompli, saying that there must be a reduction from three acute hospitals in West Sussex to one. The ‘options’ are about which of the three should be downgraded. This is not a consultation – it is Hobson’s choice. We must not allow publication of these so-called options to pitch one hospital against another" Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, said: “A consultation that offers three different kinds of cuts is frankly an insult to local people. It’s like actually whether you prefer your legs or your arms to be chopped off, or both. The answer is that local people do not want change, and no proper clinical, economic or community case has been made for these drastic suggestions" And Cllr Henry Smith, Leader of West Sussex County Council said: "These are disastrous proposals which would hurt every community around the county. This is a bleak picture of the future for health services in West Sussex, and the County Council rejects it totally"
Cllr Chris Snowling, Mid Sussex District
Council's Cabinet Member for Health said: "I am extremely disappointed at
the proposals put forward by the PCT. Fit for the Future is clearly going
to be the next step in a long term decline in health services for the Mid
Sussex community, which has seen increasingly more services focused on the
Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. It is only too apparent that the
main driver for the changes is the need to resolve the local Trusts'
financial problems and not the quality of patient care" |
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