The proposals to cut accident and emergency services at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and send patients across the country to the Royal Sussex County Hospital are regrettable and ill-advised.

In many years of service as a medical consultant in Brighton and Hove hospitals, I saw patients badly let down by administrative decisions taken by officials who escaped accountability because they were never on the frontline.

I recently had experience as a patient in the A&E department of the RSCH and saw the problems facing both staff and patients. The struggle to maintain a tolerable level of service was a serious burden for all concerned and to add to this by increasing the inflow would be disastrous.

A full and independent public inquiry is essential.

-E. A. Brown, Hove