Brighton gay community's voice could be lost in Sussex-wide NHS merger warns councillor

Brighton lesbian and gay community's voice could be lost in Sussex-wide NHS merger warns councillor

Frontline NHS services in Brighton and Hove such as working age mental health' addiction treatment and HIV services are facing large-scale reorganisation with serious implications for the city's lesbian' gay' bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community' warns Green city councillor Simon Williams.

Simon' the Green Party's social care and health spokesperson on Brighton &Hove Council' who is gay' says that the proposals include an option to merge the South Downs Health NHS Trust which provides care specifically to Brighton and Hove into a larger Sussex-wide Trust. He warns this could be unwelcome news for the LGBT community.

Although services would still be planned and provided locally' the city has a very different health and social profile from the rest of Sussex - including a much larger LGBT population. Simon fears the city's special health needs would lose out to pressures elsewhere if South Downs merges with its counterparts in the rest of the Sussex.

He said: "While the city's current health services are by no means perfect' at least local NHS bosses are Brighton-based; they're aware of the special health profile of our city in a way that health managers based in Chichester or Eastbourne simply wouldn't be.

"South Downs Trust is a multi-service Trust providing community and mental health services just for Brighton and Hove. It serves the LGBT community in many ways - for example its HIV community specialist team combines home care services' community nursing and mental health support. Do we want to lose this important city specific provider? And what will happen to 'non-mental health' services provided by South Downs such as sexual health?

"There may be some benefits to merger for NHS managers and a few efficiency savings' but I'm not convinced of the need to drastically reorganise these services across Sussex just when we're winning the cultural battle in the local NHS to recognise the needs of the LGBT community. The slogan 'If it ain't broke' don't fix it' comes to mind.

"I hope the community responds to the consultation' as I will be' and argue the case for retaining a city-specific service with South Downs. I'm frankly surprised that the Labour-led City Council has not voiced any clear concerns about this."

The consultation on 'Shaping the Future of Mental Health' Learning
Disability and Substance Misuse Services in Sussex' ends on 19 August 2005.
The consultation document is available at www.userqnews.net/nhs or
by hard copy by calling 01243 815 170.

The public is invited to respond to the proposals before 19 August 2005. Comments should be sent to 'Shaping the Future' Project Office' Amberley Building' 9 College Lane' Chichester' West Sussex PO19 6FX.