An all night vigil is taking place on Tuesday to mark the end of a controversial public consultation on the future of hospital services.

Members of the Keep Worthing and Southlands Hospitals campaign will be outside Worthing Hospital from 6pm until 7.15am the following morning.

The group will then push a hospital bed loaded with petitions, postcards and other consultation documents to the West Sussex Primary Care Trust (PCT) offices in Worthing.

The consultation officially comes to an end at 9am on Wednesday (nov 14) and any comments or views received after then will not be counted.

Campaigners across the county are calling on people to make sure they get their views in on time.

West Sussex PCT and Brighton and Hove PCT launched the Fit for the Future consultation in the summer which put hospital services such as accident and emergency and maternity at risk in Worthing, Haywards Heath and Chichester.

The PCTs wanted to create one major general hospital for West Sussex with the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton being developed as a centre of excellence for specialist services.

Campaign groups were set up representing each affected hospital and tens of thousands of people have signed petitions, gone on marches and demonstrations and gone to meetings.

They warned lives will be lost if people needing urgent treatment have to travel further for the help they need.

There has been a glimmer of hope in recent weeks with news that alternative plans that could protect A&E services at all three affected hospitals have been drawn up but there are still fears about the future of the county's maternity units.

The Kwash team will also be joined by members of the Support the PRH campaign on Wednesday morning, who have been fighting to save services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

West Worthing MP Peter Bottomley said: "We need an overwhelming response that says emergency and maternity services must stay in Worthing.

"We have been clear from the start that it would also be preferable for people in Worthing to also keep as full a range of services in Chichester as possible. That is the message we must get across to the PCT.

"Please do not leave it for others. Your hospital services are being reviewed and could be downgraded if there is not an overwhelming response to keep them."

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton said: "There are new talks currently happening with clinical leaders at Worthing and St Richards.

"Those talks are positive and welcome and will hopefully generate options that the clinicians say are in the best interests of patients.

"Hopefully we are nearing a solution to this nightmare position the PCT have put us all in, but we need a huge response to really drive our message home."

The PCTs have received more than two dozen alternative proposals to their plans.

County, district and borough councils across West Sussex, parts of East Sussex and Brighton and Hove have also decided not to accept the original proposals put forward and have suggested alternative ideas.

More details can be found at www.southeastcoastfff.nhs.uk.