MP campaigns for expansion of health services at Horsham Hospital

Horsham MP John Milne is campaigning to bring a greater range of treatments and services closer to home at the hospital as part of ongoing efforts to improve healthcare access for local residents.

“A&E waits are rising, and urgent care centres are under severe pressure,” he said. “My goal is to make sure residents don’t have to travel long distances for care that can safely be provided locally at Horsham Hospital.”

Concerns over local healthcare provision have also been raised following the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust's decision to permanently reduce the opening hours of Crawley's Urgent Treatment Centre. Opening times will move from 24 hours to opening from 7.30am – 10pm, despite more than 1,000 residents signing a petition against the change.

Mr Milne has criticised a lack of consultation and consideration of the impact this decision would have on Horsham residents who use the centre. He has joined Crawley MP Peter Lamb in signing an Early Day Motion calling for a parliamentary debate and the decision to be reversed.

But a spokesperson for Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust said: “When the temporary overnight closure was introduced, a full review was carried out to understand its impact.

“As part of this, we collected feedback from people who had used the service, as well as from local GP practices, to ensure real patient experience informed the evaluation. This information was considered alongside detailed service data, including activity levels, staffing and patterns of demand.

“The findings were presented to the West Sussex County Council Health and Adult Social Care Committee (HASC) which is the independent body responsible for scrutinising any significant changes to local health services.

"The committee carefully reviewed all the evidence and assessed whether further public engagement was required. After considering all the information provided, the HASC supported the recommendation to make the overnight closure permanent.

“We recognise that urgent care is important to residents and we remain committed to ensuring that people can continue to access safe, high‑quality care when they need it.”

Meanwhile, Karen McDowell, newly-appointed chief executive of the combined Surrey Heartlands and the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Boards, has agreed to meet John Milne at Horsham Hospital to discuss expanding local healthcare provision.

He said: “I'm pleased Karen McDowell has committed to meeting me at Horsham Hospital to explore how we can bring essential services closer to our community. Government after government has refused to give us a general hospital, so we need to make the absolute best use of the facilities we have.

“With urgent care becoming less accessible in neighbouring areas and A&E departments under enormous pressure, it's more important than ever that we maximise what we can offer locally.

"Patients across Horsham deserve accessible, high-quality healthcare close to home, and I'll continue working to secure this.”