At a special briefing yesterday, the West Sussex Primary Care Trust announced there would now be two local general hospitals in the county and one major general hospital.

This means St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, will retain some A&E services whether or not it wins the fight against Worthing to become the county's major general hospital.

However, it could still be downgraded in the shake-up of hospital services in the county.

Support St Richard's campaign co-ordinator Abigail Rowe welcomed the decision announced by the primary care trust's chief executive John Wilderspin yesterday.

However, she warned emergency patients with complex needs would still have to travel to Portsmouth or Brighton for treatment if St Richard's loses out.

Mrs Rowe said: 'The local general hospital faces a big scaling down. It will not have a full A&E. It will, in effect, be a minor injuries unit, medical assessment unit and walk-in paediatrics.' A final decision will be made on June 4.