Candle-lit vigils aim to save A&E

Margaret Williams said protesters wanted to keep core services

Vigils are being held at hospitals in Sussex by campaigners who object to plans to reduce local services.

At Eastbourne District General and the Conquest in Hastings, where there are plans to move maternity services to one site, vigils were held on Saturday.

At Worthing Hospital and the Princess Royal at Haywards Heath, where A&E units could be downgraded, 24-hour vigils have been held overnight.

Major restructuring of NHS services is taking place in Surrey and Sussex.

Protest marches

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority has delayed formal consultation on its Fit for the Future programme until next spring following a huge public outcry.

Hundreds of thousands of people have attended protest marches and rallies and signed petitions.

Margaret Williams, organiser of the Conquest vigil, said it was "very exciting" that the four towns were holding candle-lit vigils.

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed protest petitions

"We want to send out a clear signal to the powers that be that we will not lose our core services - they must be kept local," she said.

Local MPs are lending their support, with Nigel Waterson, MP for Eastbourne, lighting the first candle at the district hospital.

Eastbourne organiser Liz Walke said a decision to close a total of 10 children's beds in Eastbourne and the Conquest had already caused staff "great anxiety".

"It is the vulnerable groups in our community, the pregnant mums, babies, the old, the young and the very sick, who are most at risk if the NHS management has its way," she said.

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert opened the Haywards Heath vigil on Saturday, and Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames is due to close it on Sunday.

"We are asking for an hour of people's time to help us illustrate the huge impact that downgrading the hospital will have on the local community," said Mr Soames.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Tony Blair defended NHS changes, saying scaling down local A&E departments and creating specialist centres would save lives.

South Coast SHA has said it wants to bring more care closer to people's homes and, at the same time, ensure the local NHS lives within its means.

"We appreciate that the continuing uncertainty for staff and patients is unsettling but feel that it is most important to have the right proposals for a healthy health service," it said.