Hospital merger: need to watch the small print

8.55.00pm GMT Wed 28th Jan 2009

On the face of it the proposed merger of St Richard's and Worthing & Southlands hospitals appears to secure consultant led maternity and paediatric services in both locations.

But the PCT is still committed to its Fit for the Future programme that envisaged a concentration of specialist facilities at one site. It recently published an ambiguously worded document that raises uncertainty as to who will determine what services will be provided and where.

Given the lack of public confidence in the future direction of the local NHS services clarity is required.

If it's possible to have a single hospital operating a full range of services in both Worthing and Chichester as a Foundation Trust then questions need to be asked of the Strategic Health Authority why this option was not pursued a couple of years ago rather than pursue the expensive and divisive Fit for the Future exercise. Of course, Fit for the Future is more than just about hospitals - but the fact that the debate focussed on this aspect only is the fault of the PCT.

It is to the Strategic Health Authority that both the PCT and hospital trusts are answerable, and it has some serious questions to answer.