A CAMPAIGN is growing for a shuttle bus to be run between two Sussex hospitals.

Controversial changes to services at Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH) and the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards means more patients are travelling between the two sites.

Eastbourne borough councillors are now calling on East Sussex County Council to set up a sustainable bus service covering the 20-mile route.

A notice of motion at a full borough council meeting this week urged the county council to work with all relevant authorities and partners to explore all possible opportunities.

It said: “Eastbourne Borough Council believes that East Sussex County Council should do so as part of their public health and transport responsibilities.”

During the past 18 months, consultant maternity, paediatric and emergency orthopaedic and general surgery cases were moved from the DGH to the Conquest.

Stroke services were transferred from St Leonards to Eastbourne.

Eastbourne councillors said access to health services was vital, and if people needed longer journeys then it should be made as easy as possible for them.

Liz Walke, of the Save the DGH campaign group, which fought for eight years to stop the downgrading of maternity services in Eastbourne, said: “It’s a terrible state of affairs when a shuttle bus is being discussed. Why isn’t the NHS paying for this as they’ve removed these services?

“We need these services back as soon as possible and then there would be no need for a shuttle bus.”

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust chief executive Darren Grayson said transport was the county council’s responsibility.

He said the council had recently published its transport plan, which the trust contributed to.

He said: “While we are sympathetic to the issue of transport, our primary concern has to be providing safe, high-quality health services for the population of East Sussex.”

But county council lead member for transport and environment Carl Maynard said accessing centralised hospital services was ultimately a matter for the NHS trust.

He said other organisations, such as Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, funded a shuttle bus between its hospitals in Brighton and Haywards Heath for patients and staff.

Coun Maynard said: “Due to the financial pressures the county council is currently facing, we will not be able to fund new public transport arrangements between the Eastbourne and Hastings hospitals.

“However, we are talking to the rail and bus companies to see what can be done to make the journey easier for people travelling to hospital between the two towns, short of a direct link between the two sites.”