Health secretary asked to review West Sussex village hospital closure

Zachary Merton Hospital was temporarily closed at the end of 2023 due to concerns about the condition and safety of the building. The closure later became permanent, prompting opposition from campaigners and some local residents.

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP Alison Griffiths is still pressing the UK Government for answers over the closure of the Rustington facility.

Speaking during health questions in the House of Commons, Mrs Griffiths asked James Murray – the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – to consider concerns about the decision to close the hospital, and the lack of a public consultation.

The MP highlighted the conclusion of West Sussex County Council's Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee that the closure represented a significant variation in local healthcare provision. She also sought an update on her request for ministers to formally review the decision.

In response, the health secretary acknowledged the issue and said he would ask his team to look further into the concerns raised before reporting back.

Mrs Griffiths said residents felt they had not been properly heard throughout the process.

"Residents have been clear from the start that they feel their voices have not been properly heard throughout this process," she said.

"West Sussex County Council's own Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee has concluded that the closure constituted a significant variation in local healthcare provision. Given that finding, it is entirely reasonable for residents to expect answers about why a full public consultation was never carried out.

"I promised that I would continue to raise this issue at every opportunity, and that is exactly what I am doing. I will keep pressing for answers and for local healthcare services to remain accessible to the communities that rely on them."

Mrs Griffiths first raised concerns about Zachary Merton Hospital in the Commons in February, and later wrote to the Department of Health and Social Care – requesting that ministers formally ‘call in’ the decision for further consideration.

The development follows news that the government was considering whether to intervene over the permanent closure of the hospital in Glenville Road, Rustington.

The Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) said the hospital could no longer be used safely.

"Zachary Merton Hospital was closed at the end of 2023 due to significant estates issues that meant it wasn't safe to provide care there or have staff working on the site," a spokesperson said.

"Unfortunately, an independent survey found it would have needed extensive repairs estimated to cost £8 million, and without capital funding within the trust to that level or external national funding available, it would have taken funding from frontline services to make it safe."

The trust said it had expanded community-based services since the closure and continued to provide inpatient care through its network of intermediate care units, including facilities at Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital, Arundel and District Community Hospital and Salvington Lodge in Worthing.

The spokesperson added: "Our priority continues to be delivering high quality care to local patients and more people are receiving care at home or in the most appropriate setting compared to 2023.

"We understand that there is a strong connection with the building from the local community, and for many of our staff, however we can't deliver care from a building that isn't safe for patients or staff."

On May 21, almost 200 residents packed out the Woodlands Centre in Rustington – for a public meeting called by Mrs Griffiths MP – to discuss the future of healthcare services.

The oversubscribed meeting, chaired by councillor Andy Cooper, chairman of Rustington Parish Council, brought residents face-to-face with senior NHS representatives Siobhan Melia, chief executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, and Amy Galea, chief commissioning officer for Neighbourhoods and Partnerships at NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board.