Hospital shuttle bus back on the agenda

East Sussex County Council transport committee member cllr Michael Pursglove is calling for the service after services were centralised last year.

But the council say they cannot afford a new bus route and it is the NHS Trusts’ responsibility – but they disagree.

The UKIP councillor believes patients and employees need the shuttle bus because they need services in both hospitals and currently there is no public transport between them.

“I am concerned at the plight of those wishing to get to, or visit friends and family, at the two hospitals,” he said.

Mr Pursglove suggested the 100 and 99 buses could go via the Conquest and DGH and said it would cause no disruption to those services.

He said it would reduce car parking issues as it would be cheaper than parking.

A county council spokesman said: “Access to new centralised primary health provision is a matter for the hospital trust and not something we can support financially.

“We are working with relevant authorities and partners to facilitate a new shuttle bus service and discussions are ongoing.”

The Campaign for Better Transport has also been calling for a shuttle bus and spokesman Derrick Coffee backs Mr Pursglove’s calls.

“The county council is a health and transport authority and they are not living up to their responsibilities,” he said.

An East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust spokesman said: “Transport is the statutory responsibility of the County Council and as a Healthcare Trust, our primary concern is providing safe, high quality health services for the population of East Sussex. However, we are sympathetic to the issue of transport and as we have mentioned in meetings with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, we would be willing to engage in conservations about the different options that may be available.”

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