DowngradingSt Richard's'is a death sentence'

Health bosses have attacked the study, pointing out its flaws, while St Richard's campaigners have said the study proves downgrading the hospital could be a death sentence to residents.

'The release of the information shows to downgrade St Richard's, which covers a predominantly rural area of 460 square miles, would mean death to a percentage of patients,' Support St Richard's campaigner Abigail Rowe said.

'Not only will people die because of longer journey times, but you have to take into consideration the suffering of their family and friends, and the extra angst knowing that had St Richard's maintained its full A&E facilities, their relative or friend would still be with them.'

The study has been published in the Emergency Medical Journal and examines the relationship between distance to hospital and death rates in an emergency.

It concluded the farther seriously-ill patients have to travel by ambulance to reach emergency care, the more likely they are to die. People with respiratory problems seem to be at greatest risk.

The risk of death rose by one per cent for every ten kilometres (six miles), with the chances of dying being 13 per cent if the distance to hospital was between 10km and 20km, and 20 per cent if this was 20km or more.

But the PCT has poured cold water on the findings, which are at odds with previous studies which showed increased travel times did not have a '˜significant impact' on survival rates.

A spokesman said: 'As a contribution to the ongoing debate over the future of health services, this report is welcome and will be looked at closely.

'But it does appear to have serious limitations which the authors themselves accept, not least that it is six years old.

'Specifically, the report concludes there is good evidence for some groups of emergency patients that care provided in specialist centres improves outcomes.

'In these cases the benefits of specialist care would outweigh any detriments resulting from the increased travel distances to the centres.'

The study has also come under fire from the South East Coast Ambulance Service.

But Mrs Rowe said the findings of the new study was further ammunition for the campaign for St Richard's to be the county's only major general hospital.

She said: 'This campaign has focused largely on patients and their families. However, it is important to recognise if ambulance staff have patients dying unnecessarily on them, this will be psychologically very difficult to overcome.'

CAMPAIGN n Pages 4 & 5