Local Lib Dem MP Calls for Government to Confirm no cuts to Local Sussex NHS Trust

Following recent reports that £3bn of NHS costs are unfunded, Alison Bennett, Lib Dem MP for Mid Sussex, is urging the government to confirm that there will be no spending cuts to the local NHS Trust this winter. 

Alison’s letter to both the Health Secretary and the Chancellor follows an unprecedented warning from NHS Providers and NHS Confederation that an extra £3 billion is required to cover staff redundancies, strike action and higher drug prices. This is thought to have come about due to government agreements with President Trump, and the decision to abolish NHS England. These organisations are warning that the NHS will have to cut back on treatments and ration care to cover this shortfall, which is expected to have a significant impact on waiting lists. 

Ms Bennett has urged the government to guarantee there will be no cuts to local patient care to foot this bill, given that local services in Sussex are already greatly overstretched. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is currently dealing with a major problem regarding so-called ‘corridor care’. A local hospital was recently found to be recruiting a specialist ‘corridor doctor’ to attend to patients waiting on trolleys in A&E. 

Unfortunately, this type of care has become all too common in Sussex hospitals. For example, between June-July this year, 785 patients waited over 12 hours to be admitted in UHSussex A&E departments. Additionally, the number of people attending A&E who have had to wait longer than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge, reached nearly 35% of all admissions in June 2025. This number has increased by over 3,000% since June 2015. 

Alison Bennett has urged the Health Secretary and Chancellor to visit a local hospital, so that they can understand both the scale of the ‘corridor care’ crisis in Sussex and the urgent need to protect funding.

Commenting on her letter, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex, Alison Bennett, said: 

“As we head into the winter months, people in Sussex will be faced with spiralling waiting lists, delays getting an ambulance and overwhelmed GPs. More people will be stuck on trolleys in corridors, facing unacceptable waits to be seen in A&E. 

People in Mid Sussex cannot afford further cuts to frontline services, with residents already struggling to access appropriate and timely medical attention. Everyone deserves care when they need it, but this can only happen with proper funding. 

“Under the previous Conservative government, our NHS fell to its knees. But this government’s approach feels irresponsible and unserious. We cannot put appeasing the Treasury and President Trump above improving patient care.  People in Mid Sussex, and across the whole country, deserve better. 

“This is why I am calling on the Health Secretary to confirm that UHSussex will not lose a penny in funds thanks to this fiasco.”

Alison’s letter to the Chancellor and Secretary of State can be found below: