Sussex MP Calls For Review Into Permanent Closure Of Rustington Hospital Services

Alison Griffiths has written to the Health Secretary calling for a review of the decision to make the closure of services at Zachary Merton Hospital permanent.

In a letter to Wes Streeting, the MP has asked for the decision-making process to be examined and for any plans to dispose of the hospital site to be paused while the situation is reviewed.

The move follows a question she raised in the UK Parliament last week to Stephen Kinnock, in which she questioned whether the changes could amount to a substantial variation in NHS services and whether ministerial intervention should be considered.

Services at the hospital in Rustington were initially closed on a temporary basis, but the closure has since been made permanent.

Some local residents say they were not properly consulted and have raised concerns about the lack of publicly available evidence behind the decision, including information relating to demand modelling and where services have been moved.

Alison Griffiths said:

“Residents in Rustington are rightly angry about how this has been handled.

"A hospital that has served this community for generations cannot move from temporary closure to permanence without clear evidence and proper scrutiny.

"I raised this directly in the House of Commons last week, and I have now written formally to the Secretary of State asking him to consider calling the decision in for review.

"I have also asked that any disposal of the site is paused while that review takes place.

"Local people deserve transparency about the data underpinning this decision and clarity about where services have gone.

"If the evidence stands up, it should be published. If it does not, the decision must be reconsidered.”

Alison Cooper, who represents Rustington East on the district council and the wider Rustington Division on the county council, also raised concerns.

She said that as chair of the West Sussex Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee she has been monitoring the future of services run by Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust at the hospital for the past two years.

She said requests for detailed information and explanations about the decision not to reopen services — and the decision not to hold a public consultation — had largely been met with references to financial pressures.

Alison Cooper added that residents in Rustington and across the Arun District deserved greater transparency about changes to local healthcare services.

Alison Griffiths has also written to NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust and NHS England South East.

She has also tabled a series of Written Parliamentary Questions as part of efforts to secure further accountability over the decision.