Yes, Copthorne, near Gatwick – a 70-mile round trip for Worthing residents – is where West Sussex Primary Care Trust will decide whether Worthing Hospital will become the county's major hospital or if it will be downgraded and lose vital services.

The PCT says the Copthorne Hotel has been chosen as the venue for its board meeting on Wednesday, June 4, to preserve a sense of "neutrality" and to accommodate up to 500 members of the public.

Not holding the meeting in Worthing or Chichester is all well and good, since the fight to become the major hospital is now between the two towns' hospitals.

However, expecting the people of Worthing, many of them elderly, to travel all the way to the Copthorne Hotel is a scandal.

Cost and time

The return journey from Worthing would cost a couple £25 on the train, or £100 in a taxi.

The train journey alone would take more than an hour and that is not including any travel to and from the railway stations.

The PCT says it will operate a shuttle bus service from the always-busy Gatwick Railway Station to the hotel.

Unbelievable

Tom Wye, who has been leading the KWASH campaign to fight any proposals which would see Worthing Hospital losing any services, is appalled with the choice of location for the meeting.

He said: "It is so inconvenient, it is unbelievable.

"I drove there recently for a Rotary meeting and passed the place twice.

"It took me almost an hour to get there and that was on a Saturday morning when there was no traffic.

"It is difficult to envisage a more difficult place to get to."

Catch 22

Mr Wye went on to say the PCT had got itself into a "catch 22" situation by providing enough capacity to deal with crowds but having the meeting in such an inconvenient location that no-where near that number of people were likely to attend.

"The meeting is also on a week day, at 2pm," said Mr Wye.

"So people who work won't be able to make it and old people will have great difficulty getting there.

"It could well be a damp squid."

Webcast

The PCT has decided to broadcast the meeting live via a web-cam – again alienating many elderly people who do not have access to the internet as well as people who are working and not allowed to access the internet.

A PCT spokeswoman said: "It is quite hard to find a venue to hold the capacity and accommodate the campaigners.

"We do not want to be in a position of shutting doors to people again.

"We accept some people will not be able to attend and that is why we have set up the web-cast."

Mr Wye said despite the location, he would be trying his best to encourage as many people as possible to attend the meeting and show their support, although they will only be able to observe the proceedings.

Have your say

Do you think the Primary Care Trust has chosen the wrong location to hold its vital board meeting into the future of Worthing and St Richard's hospitals?

Vote yes or no in the blue panel to the right of this screen.

What do you think?

Where would you have held the meeting?

How important is it to announce the decision on neutral ground?

Have you ever tried to get to Copthorne?

Share your views, comment in the space below or email the Herald using the link below, or write in to Readers' Letters, Worthing Herald series, Cannon House, Chatsworth Road, Worthing, BN11 1NA.

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