Trudi Davies The Politics Show South East

Your life in their hands... or will it be..?

On Wednesday next week Patricia Hewitt will address the Labour Party Conference on the subject of "Improving Health and Education".

The conference may be a few hundred miles from the South East this year, but the issues around the health debate are very close to the regions hearts.

Over 200 residents attended a meeting in Haywards Heath last week which addressed the proposed changes to the Princess Royal Hospital.

The highly charged atmosphere was fuelled by the belief that the consultation process is nothing more than a box ticking exercise.

Lewes MP, Norman Baker claims that discussions had already been held behind closed doors and none of the options open to consultation would involve the PRH being left as it was.

Nicholas Soames MP, also at the meeting, went further urging residents to fight any proposals to change the status of the hospital.

Political suicide?

The demonstrators put the Labour Party under no illusion

Meanwhile a similar drama is being played out along the coast in Eastbourne and Hastings where the population suspect that a similar situation is emerging.

The Politics Show has discovered this week that they might be right.

There is nothing like the threat of a hospital closure to get people out on the streets.

Across the South East, the issue has been gathering momentum over the past few months.

This could be political suicide for Labour, in a region where seven of its 12 seats are worryingly marginal.

But is it a crisis or simply a rumour fuelled by press speculation and a Health Authority cover up?

Eastbourne and Hastings are good examples of a situation that is replicated across our region.

On Saturday 16 September, the people of Eastbourne demonstrated against possible closures and cutbacks at the Eastbourne District General Hospital.

On Wednesday 20 September, 20 miles down the road, the people of Hastings did the same thing.

But are upwards of 8,000 people protesting about nothing?

Campaigning MPs

That is the view of Michael Foster, Labour MP for Hastings.

Michael Foster MP giving the party line...

In a parliamentary debate earlier this year Michael Foster said: "...the health service is wonderful. Why do we keep pretending that it is not? Why do we keep threatening our local community with unnecessary dire predictions of closing various services?"

And yet Mr Foster is prominent in the Hastings campaign to "save" the Conquest Hospital and its services.

Meanwhile his counterpart, the Conservative MP for Eastbourne, Nigel Waterson, is clearly not of the opinion that everything in the NHS garden is rosy.

He led the Eastbourne march under the banner "Save DGH" and has forced Tony Blair to agree to a meeting at Downing Street with himself and a number of his constituents, all opposed to changes to their local provision.

Nigel also reckons that there is some "political targeting" going on, suggesting that whilst Hastings' health services (a marginal Labour seat) could be saved, Eastbourne (a safe Conservative area) could fare much worse.

What is going on?

The Politics Show has an exclusive interview with Nick Yeo, CEO of the local Primary Care Trusts and David Scott, Medical Director of the East Sussex Hospitals.

On maternity provision, Nick Yeo said: "At the moment we have specialist led consultancy care across two sites.

"To have the very best specialist care we need to get senior staff, specialist skills and specialist equipment and it might be better to do that in a single location.

"And at the moment that's one of the things we're likely to propose."

In a carbon copy of the Haywards Heath meeting, it seems likely that none of the proposals for consultation will leave the status of the two hospitals as they are.

On that basis it would appear that the people are right to be concerned.

Changes are afoot and it is not all media speculation and idle gossip.

But if the PCT and other managerial bodies already hold an opinion, will any amount of protesting change it?

The consultation process opens later this year and anyone with an opinion can register their views.

However, it is the PCT that has the final say and as an appointed, rather than an elected, body are they truly representative of the wishes of the electorate?

Join Paul on Sunday as he meets the MPs involved and speaks to both Nick Yeo and David Scott.

If you have an opinion on hospital closures or you want to put your point to representatives live on the programme then...

Text us on: 07786 209252 or e-mail us on the form below.

So what's in store for Labour?

On the cards... continued

Last week, Ivor, the South East's Tarot Card Reader made his predictions about the Lib Dem Conference� so this week we check to see how accurate he was and ask him to look into the political future of the Labour Party...

Your news and views

And Paul Francis, Political Editor of the Kent Messenger, joins Paul to talk about the conferences, local issues and review the texts and emails from last weeks show.

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The Politics Show South East

Join the Politics Show team on Sunday 24 September 2006 at 12:00 BST on BBC One.

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