Pro-hospital rally attracts 2,500

Residents marched in their thousands along the seafront on Saturday to protest against possible cuts at Eaastbourne District General Hospital (DGH).

Armed with banners and placards, 2,500 people of all ages walked from the town's Redoubt to the Wish Tower Slopes in a display of solidarity against plans that threaten to downgrade the hospital.

Save the DGH campaign campaign chairwoman Liz Walke said: "Words cannot truly express our grateful thanks to all who turned up on Saturday.

"You did not turn up in your hundreds but thousands.

"We now have our renewed mandate to fight the current proposals," said Ms Walke.

The protest march follows in response to a 14-week public consultation by the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust which ends on September 28.

Entitled Shaping Our Future, the consultation puts forward plans to centralise stroke care, unplanned general surgery and unplanned orthopaedic services in either Hastings or Eastbourne.

At present all the affected services are provided at both the DGH and at Hastings's Conquest Hospital.

Campaigners say that the centralisation of services would put lives at risk.

A statement on the Save the DGH website said: "The campaign is not against any change at all - we recognise that some is needed.

"However, we are determined that core services that local people depend on must be retained here in Eastbourne."

The trust said it expected to make a decision by the end of the year.

alexb@peoples-press.com