IT was just another drive from Worthing to Brighton via the seafront; but it is rush-hour, and when you are sat in an ambulance imagining you have a critically ill patient in the back, it becomes a whole different ride.

Worthing Hospital consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, Dr David Uncles, is taking me on an exclusive dummy run from Worthing's Pavilion Theatre to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

He wants to see how long it take us and, more importantly, how long it could take paramedics to drive a critically ill person, or a woman in labour, for instance, to the next nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department.

It is 8.10am on Thursday morning, and we have roughly 12 miles to travel from the Pavilion to the hospital in the centre of Brighton, via the seafront.

Dr Uncles said: "We have to remember that ambulance drivers are allowed to take their own initiative when they set off on a journey. They will take what they perceive to be the quickest route, not necessarily the shortest."

Taking the ride with us is KWASH campaigner Valerie Hitchon, 55, from Worthing. Valerie had the uncomfortable job of riding in the back of the ambulance, which is now decommisioned from St John Ambulance after 15 years of active service.

She said: "I think it's a good experiment to show just how difficult it is to travel the distance, it makes it seem very real being in an ambulance."

As we leave Worthing and the traffic starts to build up, Dr Uncles talked about the importance of paramedics and the ambulance service.

"The PCT implies that it's a myth to suggest travel times make any real difference," he said. "There is currently a 75 per cent attendance rate to all emergency calls in the Worthing area within eight minutes.

"Within 19 minutes, 95 per cent of emergency calls have been attended by paramedics."

Dr Uncles told me about a study conducted in Sheffield in 2001 into ambulance journey times and mortality rates. The extensive study found that for every six miles travelled, there appeared to be a one per cent increase in the likelihood the patient would die.

We were travelling 12 miles, so the likely risk of our imaginary patient dying during the journey increased by two per cent. The distance between the Pavilion and Worthing Hospital is just 0.8 miles.

The West Sussex Primary Care Trust emphasises the importance of the ambulance service in taking patients to the most appropriate location for their needs.

The most appropriate location for many critically ill patients is A&E, a department only one hospital in the county would have if the PCT's proposals go ahead. From the Pavilion, that would be 12 miles away, in Brighton, or 22 miles away, in Chichester.

Dr Uncles could not put the ambulance's blue lights on during our experiment, but the journey we encountered was dramatic enough, with roadworks and queueing traffic – and I couldn't help thinking of someone almost dying in the back of the ambulance, urgently needing hospital treatment, while we were stuck in traffic because one lane is blocked with roadworks.

Dr Uncles gave a running commentary throughout the journey about the importance of time, but the point that startled me most was when we reached the Norfolk Bridge over the River Adur at Shoreham, 13 minutes after we left the Pavilion.

Dr Uncles said: "By now, our critically ill patient could have been taken to Worthing Hospital and would be being diagnosed or even treated."

But we still had 7.5 miles to travel to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, and I was constantly aware of the clock ticking.

It is not just life-threatening illnesses and accidents that may be detrimentally affected by a longer ambulance journey to hospital. Dr Uncles talked extensively about some scenarios that may be aggravated by longer journey times.

"Despite the excellent work paramedics do, there are limitations to the treatment they can give," he said.

"There is only a three-hour window between someone having a stroke and the time we have to administer life-saving, clot-busting drugs.

"Paramedics cannot give these types of drugs. This is a situation when A&E is dramatically vital, and so is speed."

After what seemed like an incredibly long journey, we finally arrived at the Royal Sussex at exactly 9am, 50 minutes after leaving the Pavilion.

A total of 50 minutes is a considerable amount of time to spend in an ambulance, especially in the case of a stroke patient, when time really is of the essence for them. Interestingly, it would take almost four hours to walk the same distance we travelled.

Visitors, those with outpatients appointments or ambulances doing inter-hospital transfers, would still have to find parking.

On the way back, we took the A27 route, to compare journey times and see how busy the roads were. We left at 9.10am and it took 47 minutes to get back to the Pavilion.

Even after 9am, the traffic was still heavy, and we were only marginally quicker travelling on the faster roads.

So, it seems that no matter what time you drive to or from Brighton, a substantial amount of time will be spent travelling, time which could mean the difference between life or death.


* In the afternoon, Dr Uncles drove roughly 22 miles from the Pavilion to St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.

He left before rush-hour at 3.15pm and took the A259 Littlehampton Road to Littlehampton and then the B2233 towards Yapton.

He said: "In fact, I drove a mile or two just past where the PCT's Dr Andrew Foulkes has his own GP practice."

Dr Uncles joined the notoriously busy A27 at Tangmere as traffic was becoming heavier, to complete the final three miles to A&E at St Richard's.

It took him 40 minutes to arrive at the hospital, and the return journey took 45 minutes.

Dr Uncles said: "I think the experiment proved to show that if Worthing Hospital loses its A&E department, some patients' mortality may be jeopardised as a result of a longer journey time.

"I completely agree with the Sheffield study – in my view, response time is critical, to begin assessing the situation and starting treatment as soon as possible."