Review needed into closure of Zachary Merton Hospital in Rustington

Alison Griffiths, the MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, is calling for a review of the decision to close services at Zachary Merton Hospital in Rustington permanently.

She has written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, raising concerns about the process.

Residents say they were not properly consulted and want greater transparency over the decision.

Services at the Rustington hospital were originally closed on a temporary basis. That closure is now permanent. Many residents believe they were not properly consulted and that the evidential basis for the decision has not been made public. Concerns remain about the lack of transparency around demand modelling, service displacement, and the trajectory toward disposal of the site.

In her letter, Alison has asked the Secretary of State to review the decision-making process and to pause any disposal activity while due process is examined. A copy of the letter is being shared publicly alongside this release.

Alison said:

“Residents in Rustington are rightly angry about how this has been handled. A hospital that has served this community for generations cannot move from temporary closure to permanence without clear evidence and proper scrutiny.

“I raised this directly in the House of Commons last week, and I have now written formally to the Secretary of State asking him to consider calling the decision in for review. I have also asked that any disposal of the site is paused while that review takes place.

“Local people deserve transparency about the data underpinning this decision and clarity about where services have gone. If the evidence stands up, it should be published. If it does not, the decision must be reconsidered.”

Alison Cooper, District Councillor for Rustington East and County Councillor for Rustington Division, said:

“As Chair of the West Sussex Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, I have kept the future of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust services at Zachary Merton Hospital on the agenda for the past two years, consistently requesting detailed information and challenging the rationale behind the decision not to reopen, and the decision not to hold public consultation as repeatedly promised.

“To date, explanations from both the Trust and NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board have centred largely on financial pressures, without providing the level of transparency and evidence that residents are entitled to expect when local health infrastructure is permanently altered.

“Rustington, and East Arun deserve better.”

Alison Griffiths has also written to NHS Sussex ICB, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, and NHS England South East.

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