KWASH – Keep Worthing and Southlands Hospitals – is staging a vigil outside Worthing Hospital on Tuesday, from 6pm.

After spending the night outside, the campaigners will leave at 7.15am to make their way to the Primary Care Trust's headquarters in The Causeway, Goring.

Pushing a bed stacked with petitions, post cards and other documents against downgrading plans, the campaigners plan to arrive at the PCT by 8.15am. There, they say, chief executive John Wilderspin has promised to receive the documents before 9am, when the consultation officially closes.

KWASH chairman Tom Wye said: "Please support this final KWASH activity. If you cannot attend the vigil then please be at The Causeway from 8am to ensure we have a good crowd when the petitions are handed in.

"Time for responding to the consultation is running out. We will take letters, cards ,etc., at the hospital during the vigil and will deliver them with all the others. Please, please support this final push."

A party from the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, local schools and Worthing Churches Homeless Projects all hope to participate in the event in some way.

999 ALERT

We have only SIX days left to try to save Worthing and Southlands hospitals.

At 9am on Wednesday 14 November West Sussex Primary Care Trust ends its public consultation on plans that could see Worthing Hospital downgraded.

The Keep Worthing and Southlands Hospitals campaign and MPs Peter Bottomley and Tim Loughton are asking you to make sure you complete the form published in the Thursday 8 November Herald.

Tell the trust you want to keep your hospital as it is. An overwhelming number of responses could ensure this downgrading of our hospital does not happen.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Worthing campaigners are asking people to back the option which provides consultant-led accident and emergency and maternity services at Worthing and preferably at Chichester, too.

Use the form printed in this week's Herald to spell out your wishes but make sure you get your views in before next Wednesday's 9am deadline.

You can either bring the completed form to the Herald offices or send it direct to the PCT using the Freepost address.