A senior consultant has spoken of her concerns about losing vital services at her hospital.

Linda Rockall says other hospitals in Sussex would not be able to cope if Worthing Hospital lost facilities such as accident and emergency, intensive care and maternity.

Dr Rockall is urging people in Worthing and the other towns and villages served by the hospital to support the campaign to keep it as it is.

The South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has been carrying out a review of all hospitals in Sussex as part of plans to cut spending by more than £100 million.

Proposals include downgrading Worthing Hospital, St Richard's in Chichester, Eastbourne District General and the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath, which would mean longer journeys for patients.

Worthing deals with 11,200 acute medical admissions a year, including people with asthma attacks, strokes and fevers. It also has 2,200 cardiac admissions and 5,200 surgical admissions for emergency operations.

Dr Rockall said: "This is an extremely busy general hospital that is dealing with a catchment area of 280,000 people."

If the hospital lost its intensive care unit, surgeons would not be able to perform emergency operations.

The hospital's maternity unit delivers about 2,700 babies a year with 260 needing extra care in a special care unit.

Dr Rockall said: "In the last year the Brighton maternity unit closed 29 times and the Princess Royal's 19 times. We closed twice. It is obvious that we are needed.

"The changes being considered are designed to save money but they have not been tested. It is how people think they will work rather than evidence based.

"We think the people of Worthing deserve more than that. They helped raise £1 million for a CT scanner in the 1980s and have put in a lot of money to the intensive care unit."

Dr Rockall and other staff will join a march on Worthing seafront from 6pm on Wednesday, followed by a rally at the Pavilion Theatre at 7pm. MPs Peter Bottomley and Tim Loughton have also launched an online campaign, which has been signed by thousands of people.