Whatever the future of maternity services at The Conquest Hospital, Hastings, the Government has a duty to ensure adequate healthcare and NHS facilities across the country (The Argus, June 28).
Thousands of women in and around Hastings give birth every year, and they need maternity services in the town.
Forcing them to travel to Eastbourne will not only place mothers under extras stress when they need it least but will heap extra pressure on the Eastbourne unit.
Despite the Government's protestations to the contrary, the people of Sussex don't need more choice in healthcare provision, they are demanding decent services in local hospitals, and local services to be safeguarded both from clumsy financial management and the terms of the complex network of privatisation and PFI deals which are eroding the NHS from the inside out.
This sorry mess is a stark reminder of how the Government's health reforms undermine local services and hitting local people where it hurts.
The Government must call a halt to all privatisation and guarantee funding for essential local services, such as maternity services for the women of Hasting and St Leonards.
-Dr Caroline Lucas MEP (Green Party, South-East England), European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, Brussels, Belgium
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