The Day Surgery Unit at Uckfield Community Hospital is critically important to my family, friends, neighbours, and myself. As a beacon of community care and commitment, it has served countless residents, providing vital treatment within our community, sparing them the stress of traveling and receiving care in unfamiliar places. 

It also reduces the burden from the already overwhelmed facilities at the major general hospitals where waiting lists will undoubtedly lengthen due to any such local closure.

Regrettably, the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has decided to close this irreplaceable institution. The population of Uckfield continues to grow, and with it, the demand for local healthcare services like those offered by the Day Surgery Unit. According to 2021 data from the Office For National Statistics (ONS), Uckfield's population has grown by over 12% in the past decade (ONS, 2021), with further major expansion predicted to take place imminently and yet, our healthcare resources are being scaled back.

We humbly ask for the revoking of the decision requiring the unit's closure. Our community greatly requires these local services; our healthcare system should be expanding, not shrinking. For the sake of our health, family, friends, and future of patient care in our community, please sign this petition and urge the Healthcare Trust to reconsider their decision on the closure of the Uckfield Community Hospital Day Surgery Unit.