Revealed: scandal of PCT trio with Worthing links

Campaigners have called for resignations after the allegation was made at a public meeting to formally rubber-stamp the decision to downgrade services at St Richard's Hospital.

The meeting heard the wife of board member Andrew Foulkes works as a paediatric physiotherapist at Worthing Hospital, which is to become the county's only major general hospital.

It also heard Dr Farhang Tahzib, who wrote an influential report for the PCT on deprivation, is the chairman of the Worthing Together Local Strategic Partner-ship and David King, a Worthing borough councillor, has a daughter who suffers from a long-term illness requiring treatment from one of the centralised services.

"If this is true then I am utterly appalled and I would expect these people to explain themselves or resign," said Support St Richard's campaigner Abigail Rowe.

A member of the public made the claim at the PCT's board meeting in Walberton last Thursday which formally decided to go ahead with its plans to axe emergency surgery, inpatient children's services and emergency surgery from St Richard's and centralise them to Worthing.

The PCT has already had accusations of bias towards Worthing levelled at it and the latest claim has done little to appease sceptics.

All PCT board meetings require all conflicts of interest members or their family have be declared.

But PCT chief executive John Wilderspin told the Observer he was satisfied none of these interests needed to be declared.

"I am satisfied people have declared their motivational interests," he said. "At the beginning of the consultation we had allegations from Worthing we were being biased towards Chichester, and now the decision has been made we have had allegations we are being biased towards Worthing.

"But the decision was not based on bias towards any hospital. It was based on the evidence."

This allegation follows an Observer exclusive earlier this month which revealed a secret deal had been struck between Worthing and Brighton to strip West Sussex of its high-dependency baby unit.

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