The West Sussex joint health overview and scrutiny committee decided yesterday (Wednesday, July 23) to refer the outcome of the West Sussex Primary Care Trust's Fit for the Future consultation.

The PCT confirmed its decision in June, to make Worthing Hospital become the major general hospital for West Sussex – meaning it would provide emergency surgery, inpatient services for children and house the only consultant-led maternity unit in the county.

Under the plans, St Richard's Hospital in Chichester and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath both retain some form of A&E services, but will become local general hospitals.

Not in area's interests

But yesterday the scrutiny committee agreed the following resolution:

"On the evidence available, the joint health overview and scrutiny committee believes the decisions made by West Sussex PCT regarding the future configuration of acute services for the people of West Sussex and surrounding areas, are not in the interests of the health service in this area.

"The committee will therefore refer the PCT's decisions to the Secretary of State for health."

On hearing the decision John Wilderspin, chief executive of West Sussex PCT, said: "It is disappointing that the JHOSC has chosen to refer the PCT's decisions to the Secretary of State but we respect their scrutiny throughout the Fit for the Future consultation and decision making process.

"We now welcome further external scrutiny and look forward to working with the Independent Review Panel (IRP). Like the JHOSC, we also want what's best for local people and we want the decision to be the right one for people living in West Sussex."

Reasons why

The committee said it made the decision for the following reasons:

1. There remains insufficient clarity about the way in which the service model of one major general and two local general hospitals (LGH) within West Sussex will be implemented, in particular exactly which services will be provided at each hospital and the impact on services provided at hospitals outside West Sussex.

2. There is a lack of clinical consensus for the proposals, which makes it impossible for the committee to be assured that the proposals are clinically safe and sustainable – key objectives identified by the PCT at the outset of its consultation on the changes.

3. The decision leaves the Royal West Sussex NHS Trust (St Richard's Hospital) in a position which the PCT considers may not be financially sustainable and unlikely to meet the standards required of a Foundation Trust in breach of government policy.

This would also have applied to Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust had Worthing Hospital been chosen as the LGH.

4. The PCT has failed to satisfy the committee that it has fully explored alternative options for the retention of consultant led maternity services at Princess Royal and St Richard's Hospitals.

The PCT has not taken into full account recent evidence regarding the potential clinical and financial sustainability of smaller consultant-led obstetric units which could make consultant-led obstetric units at Royal West Sussex (St Richards' Hospital), Worthing and Southlands and Princess Royal Hospitals viable.


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