The safety of specialist services at St Richard's Hospital is being put at risk as disillusioned staff abandon West Sussex and refuse to transfer to Worthing.
The warning came as for the first time bosses at St Richard's Hospital criticised the decision to centralise some services to Worthing, and made a plea for the decision to be referred to the secretary of state Alan Johnson.
"We believe it is the w
rong decision made for the wrong reasons," chairman of the Chichester hospital Susan Pyper told a meeting of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
"It is no exaggeration to say it has left my organisation feeling angry and bitter about how the decision was made. There is no acceptance the decision-making process was fair."
She said the PCT was wrong in its belief staff from St Richard's will transfer to Worthing and said experienced staff were already leaving the county.
"Our staff will not sit and wait in an organisation which is being downgraded. In the face of instability and uncertainty, they will move," she said.
"The JHOSC needs to know I have serious concerns about the sustainability of some services at St Richard's during this transition period.
"Already our staff are leaving, many in the Portsmouth direction, or are being approached, or looking elsewhere. We cannot attract consultants to key vacant posts.
"This has never happened before in recent years. In fact, before the decision to make Worthing the MGH we had 52 applicants for a consultant obstetrician post. I am concerned about the safety of some services in this interim period."
Mrs Pyper told the committee, which is acting as a watchdog, the hospital trust questioned the decision-making progress.
She said the Primary Care Trust inappropriately gave the issue of urban deprivation too much weight in the decision-making progress, ignored the travel times facing those in the west of the county and ignored the success of St Richard's and the ease with which it could expand.
"The PCT has said it has chosen the preferred location not the preferred hospital," she said.
"I urge the JHOSC to closely scrutinise the decision to make Worthing the MGH and to refer the decision to the secretary of state for review.
"The aim of Fit for the Future was to provide better healthcare for West Sussex. The PCT has said 'it will change and improve services for the whole county'. We do not believe what is proposed will make services better; in fact, it could make them worse."
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The full article contains 494 words and appears in OS-Chichester Observer newspaper.
