"The PCT has failed to recognise the critical issues of transport and access in their consultation. It is vital that the future of health care in the area takes into account how well local residents can access the services and not just how easy they are for the PCT to deliver, especially in a rural area such as Chichester District," said Councillor Cullen.

"Chichester District residents also have concerns over the estimated travel times being used by the PCT when analysing how long it will take patients to travel to hospitals, which appear to be vastly underestimating problems caused by traffic and roads," continued Councillor Cullen.

In addition, Defra classifies the Chichester District as one of the most rural in the South East and it therefore has a unique set of concerns. Chichester District Council does not feel that all of the current options reflect the needs of local residents:-

• Compared to urban areas, rural communities now have a higher proportion of older people. As people get older, they rely on health services more and more, but their ability to travel widely decreases due to increased reliance on public transport or the onset of disability.
• The large area (300 square miles) of the District creates difficult journeys due to traffic and small country roads. If hospital services such as Accident and Emergency were lost at St. Richard's Hospital, residents would face worse traffic delays and increasing difficulties due to our overloaded transport networks. These problems will be worse for those who are without a car and reliant on public transport, particularly in the north of Chichester District.

"These are some of the reasons that the development of St Richard's Hospital as a Major General Hospital should be supported. It would be clearly unwise and risky for the PCT to run down the services at St. Richard's," said Councillor Cullen.

The picture as it stands within Chichester District is as follows:-

• 29% of rural households are over 4 km away from a GP
• 30.6 % of households have one or more inhabitants with a limiting long term illness
• The main reasons for ambulance call outs are for falls, accidents and breathing problems for people aged over 65.

Councillor Cullen continued, "These are just a handful of statistics and there are many more that demonstrate why Chichester District needs the services provided by a Major General Hospital. It is vital that residents show PCT Health Chiefs that our District is the largest in West Sussex with a mix of coastal settlements, rural villages, vibrant towns and plenty of countryside and that the downgrading of St. Richard's Hospital is not acceptable."

St. Richard's needs your support. You may get a full copy of the consultation document and communicate your views to West Sussex Primary Care Trust by accessing their website http://www.southeastcoastfff.nhs.uk/ or telephoning their consultation helpline on 0800 7076975.

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