People living across West Sussex have argued for two years that proposals to downgrade health services were not in the best interests of an area with a growing population and clear healthcare needs. Yesterday, a committee of senior Councillors agreed with that assessment and unanimously agreed that the Primary Care Trust’s decisions are not in the interests of West Sussex and should be referred for further scrutiny.

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames said: “I am absolutely thrilled and delighted for everyone in Mid Sussex that the PCT’s decisions have been referred to the Secretary of State and the Independent Review Panel. This will ensure that an independent eye is given to proposals which had little or no public support at all. We will now prepare the most formidable and detailed case to submit to the Secretary of State and I shall be taking a delegation to see him in the early Autumn. This is really good news and I am so grateful to all those local people who turned out to march shoulder to shoulder in support of our much treasured and essential local health facilities.  We will not let them down in the next stage of this arduous process”

In a statement, the campaign said: “We warmly welcome the committee’s decision, which has been made after listening to the evidence put before them by the PCT, campaign groups, MPs and local councils. Their decision that the PCT’s plans are not appropriate for health services in West Sussex will be supported by everyone who has signed petitions, joined marches and campaigned for the retention of excellent services at the PRH.  Local people have won a major victory and the fight will continue to ensure the retention of services at the PRH”

The Committee highlighted the following as reasons for its decision:

1. There remains insufficient clarity about the way in which the service model of one Major General and two Local General Hospitals (LGH) within West Sussex will be implemented, in particular exactly which services will be provided at each hospital and the impact on services provided at hospitals outside West Sussex.

2. There is a lack of clinical consensus for the proposals, which makes it impossible for the Committee to be assured that the proposals are clinically safe and sustainable – key objectives identified by the PCT at the outset of its consultation on the changes.

3. The decision leaves the Royal West Sussex NHS Trust (St Richard’s Hospital) in a position which the PCT considers may not be financially sustainable and unlikely to meet the standards required of a Foundation Trust in breach of government policy. This would also have applied to Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust had Worthing Hospital been chosen as the LGH.

4. The PCT has failed to satisfy the Committee that it has fully explored alternative options for the retention of consultant led maternity services at Princess Royal and St. Richard’s Hospitals. The PCT has not taken into full account recent evidence regarding the potential clinical and financial sustainability of smaller consultant-led obstetric (maternity) units (CLU) which could make CLUs at St Richard’s, Worthing and Princess Royal Hospitals viable.