Health services 'saved'

At the same time, consultant-led maternity services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, based on the proposals received earlier this year from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, have been recommended for retention and will be considered at the same meeting.

The moves have been declared a victory by campaigners who fought long and hard against the proposed loss of hospital services.

The proposal for St Richard's and Worthing Hospitals follows a meeting last week between senior representatives from both the NHS West Sussex and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust Boards.

The proposed outcome, the product of the further discussions around the Fit for the Future process, represents a solution which NHS West Sussex chief executive John Wilderspin says will provide major benefits to the public in West Sussex.

He said: "This is very good news for patients and the public in West Sussex, and for the NHS in the county.

"The merger of the two trusts following Fit for the Future has produced new opportunities for joint working, which mean that we believe these three services can now be retained on two sites.

These arrangements did not exist when the original Fit for the Future decisions were made. When merger talks began we put those decisions on hold to see what difference the merger process might have, and we are pleased to see that the impact has been so positive.

"We now believe that a strong, unified trust on the South Coast provides a strong foundation for the provision of acute and specialist services within the county.

"The trust has given us detailed proposals as to how these services will be delivered for local people in the long term."