The NHS in Hampshire has launched a public consultation about how between £700 million and £900 million should be invested in hospital services to transform healthcare for communities across the county.
Patients and local people are being encouraged to get involved and give their views on the proposals which include:
- building a brand new hospital on the current Basingstoke hospital site or near Junction 7 of the M3 for specialist and emergency care, such as strokes, heart attacks, trauma (treating life and limb threatening injuries), emergency surgery, obstetrician-led maternity care, and separate children’s emergency department
- significantly investing in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester which would focus on planned operations and procedures, and provide a 24/7 doctor-led urgent treatment centre that would see and treat around 60% of the patients who currently go to Winchester A&E, same day emergency care services, and midwife led maternity services
- continuing to deliver day-to-day hospital services such as outpatients, diagnostics, and therapy services from the main hospital sites
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve hospital facilities and hospital services across Hampshire for decades to come.
The NHS in Hampshire wants to know what people think about the plans it has put forward to build a new hospital, invest in Winchester hospital, and its proposals for where services are provided from in the future.
The proposals it is now consulting on have been designed by clinicians, with patients and the public, and are based on clinical evidence and best practice. At their heart is the need to deliver safe, sustainable, high-quality services for the future, with sufficient specialist staff to run services well.
The consultation document, which provides more detail on the proposals, is now available at www.hampshiretogether.nhs.uk.
There are lots of ways people can get involved and have their say, including by attending online and in person listening events, and completing a questionnaire.
For full details and to book a place, visit www.hampshiretogether.nhs.uk or call 0300 561 0905.
The consultation is open until midnight on Sunday 17 March 2024.