A public consultation has been launched on proposals for a shake up of ambulance services.

The move could lead to Sussex Ambulance Service merging with neighbouring Kent to form one giant trust across both counties.

A consultation document published by the NHS South East regional office recommends the seven ambulance trusts in its area are reduced to three.

Sussex will merge with Kent while Hampshire joins forces with Surrey. Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire will form the third trust.

Proposals to merge all the South East services into one "supertrust" were considered but health chiefs believe it will be too large and unwieldy to manage effectively.

The mergers are part of the ongoing modernisation of the NHS which is working to centralise organisations, cutting management and administration costs which are then to be ploughed back into facilities.

Sussex Ambulance chief executive David Griffiths said patients would notice very little change in the services they got.

He said: "This is more of a management and administrative change. There are no plans to close ambulance stations or cut down on staff numbers.

"The crews will still operate in the same areas across the county as they do now so there is no scenario where a crew in Brighton is going to be called to a incident somewhere in Kent."

Staff are uncertain about the proposals and say they will be working closely with management to make sure their terms and conditions are protected.

A spokesman for Unison: "We are already struggling to meet emergency response targets and are short-staffed.

"The idea of a merger with another trust is making a lot of people very nervous because it is going to mean a lot of changes in how we operate.

"The change will also mean a shake-up of management. We shall be taking a close look at the proposals to make sure all staff are protected."

Sussex Ambulance currently employees 746 staff and deals with 372 calls a day on average while Kent has 678 employees and deals with 279 calls.

A series of public meetings will be held in Sussex in the next three months to give people a chance to see the proposals and responses will be sent to the Department of Health for consideration.

If Health Secretary Alan Milburn gives the go-ahead to the proposals, the new trusts could be in place by next April.