Government to investigate Worthing Hospital concerns

When challenged in the House of Commons this afternoon by Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley, the secretary of state said she was not aware of the situation but pledged to look into the matter.

This comes following recent revelations by the Worthing Herald that the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority is secretly considering nine options for the future of local health services.

Six of the options would involve the downgrading of Worthing Hospital and the inevitable loss of accident and emergency services.

Peter Bottomley and East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton are urging the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority chief executive Candy Morris to come clean about the behind-the-scenes discussions and open them up to public scrutiny.

Peter Bottomley said: "The secretary of state needs to address a number of issues. If there is a major inefficiency in the way that the hospital and/or the trust is being run, how and why has that been able to go undetected for the last 8 years? If it is a question of moving the patients to where there is the budget to treat them, then surely it is much more sensible to move the budget itself to the patients in Worthing '“ the largest town in West Sussex?

"Any moves to downgrade Worthing Hospital will be resisted in the strongest possible terms."

Tim Loughton added: "There is far too much secret discussion and not enough open information. Is there is a big gap between what the Strategic Health Authority are saying in public and what is happening behind the scenes? Patients need to know."

Together the MPs say that in reality, plans are moving on and decisions are likely being made without any sort of public scrutiny. By the time any formal consultation is launched it might be too late to do much about it '“ the decision could have already have been made.