The Royal Sussex County Hospital plays a very important part in treating patients from London, Surrey, Kent, Hants, West Sussex and even French people if they are taken ill on the ferry at Newhaven.

Every day we hear the ambulances, fire engines and police cars going past our house to reach the M23 to pick up casualties after the many crashes that happen on that road.

These patients are then taken to the A&E and intensive wards at the hospital. There is no alternative.

They might be Londoners or residents of villages and towns miles from Brighton and Hove.

As Labour politicians know from visiting Brighton and Hove for their annual conference, the city attracts many visitors.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital has to be available to anybody. Because of this, the doctors, nurses and all staff are pressed to cope with demand.

This results in long waiting lists for local people. So we all suffer because Brighton and Hove is popular.

Tony Blair has promised to have new hospitals built. The local solution would be to be build two new hospitals on the M23 to take all the visitors to the area.

This would take the unnecessary strain off the Royal Sussex County Hospital and allow local residents a chance of getting a bed in their hospital.

-N H Smith, Carden Avenue, Brighton