Protesters are calling for the reinstatement of Crawley's A&E

A public meeting heard on Tuesday that patients were facing lengthy waits after changes made in August, which NHS managers denied.

Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust says the best option is to deliver care on one site, at East Surrey Hospital, Redhill.

A 15,000-name petition calling for the reinstatement of A&E at Crawley is being sent to Westminster.

The hospital trust said the reinstatement of Crawley's A&E has been ruled out.

We are frustrated - we are quite demoralised. With my hand on my heart, patient care is suffering Keith Mitchell, paramedic

But managers did agree to look at ways of improving access to emergency care at Redhill.

Dr Frances Matthey, a spokesman for the trust, said: "If there are clinical concerns about specific instances then I would love to hear about them, because we really want to get this thing sorted."

Paramedics say they are concerned about waiting times for emergency treatment.

Keith Mitchell, paramedic, told BBC South East Today, he had been a Crawley resident since 1976 and said: "We are frustrated - we are quite demoralised.

"With my hand on my heart, patient care is suffering."

A&E delays

In September, ambulance officials blamed a backlog at Redhill's casualty department on the closure of Crawley's A&E.

Sussex Ambulance Trust chairman Richard Purchase wrote to hospital managers to say the situation was "clinically unsafe".

But the hospital trust said the situation was improving, with the number of delays being reduced.

The A&E department at Crawley Hospital closed at the end of August as part of a �30m overhaul of services with a minor injuries unit set up in its place.