The service model proposed by clinicians and backed by Sir Graeme Catto, which would keep A&E services in St Richards Hospital, Chichester; Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath; and Worthing Hospital, has been recommended to the PCT Board as the preferred model of hospital care for people in West Sussex.

West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) will make a final decision on the recommendation at its board meeting being held in Haywards Heath next Wednesday (May 7).

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It is recommended that model three is approved by the board. If agreed it will mean that:

St Richards Hospital and Worthing Hospital will keep the majority of existing A&E services and Princess Royal Hospital will keep its current level of emergency services.

Intensive care will remain in all three hospitals (treatment and monitoring for people who are in a critically ill, or unstable, condition).

Routine planned surgery will remain in all three hospitals (when a patient goes into hospital on a specific day, for a specific operation).

Acute medical care, including emergencies (for example, heart attacks) will remain with only very few types of emergencies diverted to the major general hospital.

Emergency surgery and some other very specialist emergency services will be centralised at the Major General Hospital which will be either St Richards Hospital or Worthing Hospital (for Mid Sussex residents, these services were already centralised at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in 2005 as part of the Best Care, Best Place consultation).

The recommended model would also support the centralisation of consultant led inpatient maternity services together with inpatient children's beds.

Alongside the centralisation of higher risk care, two Midwife Led Units (MLUs) and one co-located midwife led unit will be available in West Sussex.

The idea is that the recommended model will ensure health services are safe, sustainable and meet the best standards of modern medicine. The belief is that benefits to patients include:

Access to specialists: A larger number of doctors working together in teams mean that they can specialise in particular areas. There will be a greater number of consultants available to treat patients improving the quality of care provided and improving outcomes for patients.

Care closer to home: Health services in the community will be developed – reducing the need for people to go into hospital in the first place.

Retaining specialist services: Keeping specialist services in West Sussex

John Wilderspin, chief executive, West Sussex Primary Care Trust, said: "The recommended model proposed by local clinicians and backed by Sir Graeme Catto will ensure that the majority of people can still go to their local A&E apart from those needing really specialist care who will be better supported in a hospital with more specialist services.

"The recommended model has the support of the local NHS and has been designed with the public's views in mind. If this model is adopted by the PCT Board next week it will ensure that health services remain local where possible and are only centralised where the benefits for patients are clear."

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