While Worthing has struggled to find staff to fill its vacancies, prospective employees have been queueing at the door for a job at St Richard's Hospital.

"Worthing Hospital has one A&E consultant and has been unable to fill the remaining posts for several months," Support St Richard's campaigner Abigail Rowe said.

"However, St Richard's has five A&E consultants and always has many high-calibre applicants applying for its vacant posts."

To see a video of St Richard's general and vascular surgeon David Allen talking about staffing click the green button.

Chief executive of the West Sussex Primary Care Trust, John Wilderspin, said recruitment problems were one of the issues it would be working on closely with Worthing Hospital.

But leading consultant David Allen said many staff at St Richard's did not want to move to there and would leave the county all together as a result of the PCT's choice of location for the MGH.

He said: "Many will not go to Worthing – they will go to the big centres instead of choosing to go to Worthing."

The Worthing-based PCT has also denied claims it has been biased towards the seaside town, despite the fact almost all of its board members live or work in the Worthing area.

"The board has a huge bias to Worthing and we don't believe they will have been able to exercise complete neutrality in reaching their decision," the campaigners have said in a statement.

Campaigners are now considering their next move with the possibility of a judicial review on the cards.

Co-chairman of the Support St Richard's campaign Dr Marjory Greig said staff would ensure patients continued to come first.


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