Health Service Crisis
An urgent health summit has been called for in West Sussex by Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert. He wants the future of local NHS provision in the county to be fully discussed.
The move came after the shock announcement of the closure of King Edward VII hospital in Midhurst, which provides services to many of his constituents living in the South Downs. The hospital employs 239 staff and sees 20,000 patients a year.
Last month the new chief executive of the Strategic Health Authority, Candy Morris, said that 'local people can be confident that their local NHS will improve'. But four local NHS trusts are forecast to be facing deficits totalling more than 70 million by the end of this financial year.
For full story and reaction to closure of King Edward VIII Hospital see West Sussex Gazette, March 16.