Hospital cuts - latest, Tuesday afternoon

He said there were real fears either his town's hospital or the Conquest Hospital, in Hastings, could lose its maternity unit.

The government said there were too few births at both hospitals.

Campaigns in Eastbourne and Hastings have already seen petitions handed to Tony Blair and protest marches held.

East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust said it would hold a public consultation on any proposed maternity changes but Mr Waterson has demanded assurances about how any decisions will be made.

MP Nigel Waterson has added his voice to the Eastbourne campaign

Speaking on Tuesday, he said: "These life-and-death decisions for local communities like Eastbourne must be based on clinical evidence and community need, not party politics.

"Two respected consultants have said that lives would be at risk if one site were shut down," he added.

In reply, health minister Caroline Flint spoke of the quality of service that could be provided.

"The problem is that low volume units tend to have poor outcomes," she said.

Mr Waterson's conclusion was that he remained concerned that answers were not given about "who would make the decisions and indeed whether they had already been made".