Conquest services decision 'within weeks'

HEALTH bosses have said proposed changes to services in Hastings are to be made 'within weeks'.

But chiefs at the hospital Trust and the two Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the area said the maternity ward at the Conquest could close down, forcing expectant mothers to travel almost 20 miles to Eastbourne.

A statement from both Nick Yeo, chief Executive designate of Hastings and Rother PCT and Kim Hodgson, chief executive of East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, was released on Wednesday, the day hundreds of people staged a demonstration against the downgrading of Conquest services.

It said: "We are working together to develop services closer to home and ensure specialist services are delivered in the best possible way.

"There is a lot to be proud of in East Sussex.

"Tremendous progress has been made to reduce waiting times for operations. "Medical advances, new technologies and new drugs mean, for example, more people can have day surgery and people with long term conditions can have their care in the community.

"In East Sussex, East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust and the PCT have been discussing with people and organisations the future of local healthcare at a series of events and more than 70 meetings across East Sussex.

"These discussions are helping to inform and shape our plans for the future.

"While these discussions are continuing we are concerned to reassure people in relation to the speculation concerning the hospital sites at Eastbourne and the Conquest hospital.

"Currently we expect to be proposing that for maternity care, mothers opting to have a hospital birth will in the future have their delivery at either Eastbourne District General or the Conquest Hospital.

"This is because in order to provide the best possible care and specialist back up, including the special care baby unit, we need to develop this care at one centre.

"This does not mean that local care would not be provided to all mothers both before and after birth and for those opting for a home delivery.

"We are also considering how best to organise our emergency care services so that we prevent people needlessly being admitted to hospital if other alternatives are available.

"However this is unlikely to lead to any significant changes in our A&E services.

"Our thinking is still developing and the door is still open for ideas, provided they meet the three key criteria, clinical safety and quality, meeting patient needs and ensuring best use of our resources.

"We expect to be coming forward with proposals for consultation in the next few weeks."