An influential patient watchdog has criticised proposed changes to hospital services in central Sussex.

Brighton, Hove and Lewes Community Health Council (CHC) says the shake-up would mean people having to travel more than half-a-million extra miles a year to get to better quality hospital services.

The changes include transferring breast cancer services from Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton to a specialist centre at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

The trusts which run both hospitals, Brighton Health Care and Mid Sussex, would be merged.

Changes to the cancer services will principally affect women, although about three per cent of breast cancers are found in men.

CHC chief officer Mike Collinson said: "While we believe these changes will improve the quality of services,with our city being the largest centre of population in the central Sussex area we would prefer to see a centre of excellence in the city.

"We are, however, told that there is no available space on the Royal Sussex site in Brighton."

Members of the CHC travelled between Brighton and Princess Royal Hospital by public transport to find out how easy the journey was.

Most found the trip difficult and all said it would have been far worse if they had mobility problems or had to take children with them. They also found there was a shortage of readily accessible and up-to-date transport information available and were concerned about the increase in travelling costs.

Other services included in the consultation are operations on blood vessels, gastrointestinal surgery, urology and routine orthopaedic operations.

Together with breast care, it is predicted about 2,200 people who currently receive inpatient treatment at the Royal Sussex would be admitted to the Princess Royal Hospital.

But only 110 patients from the Haywards Heath area would travel to Brighton for treatment.

The CHC calculated the changes could result in patients and their visitors travelling an extra half-a-million miles a year.

Chairman Mo Marsh said: "We believe there will be an definite improvement to the quality of services.

"We are, however, concerned these changes particularly affect women who are likely to be more reliant on public transport and have caring responsibilities. We fear more difficult access may deter some people from seeking treatment as soon as they otherwise would do. This could have serious consequences."

Public meetings to discuss the proposals are being held at Hove town hall on September 25 at 7.30pm and at the Brighthelm Centre on September 28 at 12.30m. The closing date for comments is October 29.