A hospital which has vowed to keep its accident and emergency department at full strength is struggling to find doctors to run it.

Two full-time consultants are needed to provide cover for the unit at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Derek Harborne, the hospital's only permanently based A&E consultant, leaves next month and two temporary doctors have been brought in to replace him.

Mid Sussex NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, is readvertising the full-time posts to try to lure doctors to the area.

It has been looking for consultants since Dr Harborne announced his decision in January but no applicants have come forward.

The trust said part of the problem was the uncertainty over the future of the department after proposals to scale it down and transfer services to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton were made public last year.

The plans sparked a protest in the Mid Sussex area with thousands of people signing petitions organised by The Argus and the Princess Royal Action Group.

Last month the Central Sussex Partnership Review, a joint initiative between Mid Sussex, Brighton Health Care NHS Trust and Sussex's two health authorities, formed to look at how health services were provided in the area, announced it was dropping the proposals.

Mid Sussex and Brighton Health Care trusts are planning to merge next year and closer links will be developed between the two hospitals.

There are three A&E consultants based at Brighton and the aim following the merger is to eventually have five doctors who will provide cover at both hospitals on a rota basis.

Mid Sussex chief executive Stefan Cantore said: "We are sending out a strong message that there is no threat handing over A&E at Princess Royal.

"There is very little chance of attracting quality senior doctors at a time when there is a national shortage of consultants so long as the PRH is seen as an isolated department.

"We hope that by working with colleagues at Brighton to integrate the posts and the proposed new medical school planned for Sussex will provide an attractive option.

"We are confident that we will soon have the permanent posts filled once doctors see what we are offering and it will be patients who will ultimately benefit from a full service."

The Central Sussex Partnership is planning to publish its plans for a shake-up of services at Royal Sussex and Princess Royal and the proposed merger between the two trusts involved next month.