Hundreds of people are expected to attend a public meeting to protest about plans to downgrade the accident and emergency department at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

The meeting is being organised by Haywards Heath Town Council and will be held at Clair Hall in the town at 8pm tomorrow.

Speakers will include June Dales, West Sussex Health Authority co-ordinator for the public health programme; Roger Green, chief executive of Mid Downs Health Trust, which runs the Princess Royal; and Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames.

Town clerk Carole Preston said: "The meeting will give people the chance to air their views about the proposed downgrading of the accident and emergency services at Princess Royal."

An official document made public last week outlined potential hospital changes across central Sussex, which included downgrading the A&E to an emergency treatment centre. This would mean many casualties, including road crash victims, would be taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

The document, Modern Hospital Services For Central Sussex, suggests three options:

Continue as now for the short term
No A&E at the Princess Royal
All trauma and emergency surgery be treated at the Royal Sussex and other medical emergencies, such as strokes and heart attacks, at both hospitals.

The document is in favour of option three, which would require enhanced A&E facilities at the Royal Sussex County, including 50 extra beds and more operating theatres.

The proposals come at a time when Crawley Hospital is also losing its A&E department, which will be based at East Surrey Hospital, Redhill.

The Argus launched a petition last Tuesday to save the Princess Royal A&E.

It is being supported by Dame Vera Lynn, as well as medical and community leaders.

Dame Vera said: "The last thing you want if you have an accident is to be detained in traffic going to Brighton.

"To have a lack of general accident and emergency care bet-ween Brighton and Redhill is crazy."

She is urging everyone to sign our petition in the hope it will lead to a rethink by health officials.