Patients concerns over Royal County Hospital restructure

Miriam Coley, who dressed as Florence Nightingale for the meeting, said the plans were "frightening"

Residents near a Hampshire hospital say plans to restructure could be a "death sentence" for seriously-ill patients.

Members of the public have been discussing the potential closure of the Royal Hampshire County Hospital's A&E department in Winchester.

It is part of a multimillion-pound proposal to create a new purpose-built hospital in or near Basingstoke.

The plans mean Winchester's emergency department could become a 24/7 doctor and nurse-led urgent treatment centre.

Hampshire Hospitals trust is hosting a number of public listening events across the county as part of a 14-week consultation

Dozens gathered at Weeke Community Centre and raised fears over the plans during a meeting held by Hampshire Hospitals Trust.

The trust is holding public listening events across the county and online as part of a 14-week consultation.

The trust previously announced plans to spend £700-£900m on an acute specialist hospital - either on the current Basingstoke hospital site, or on land off junction 7 of the M3.

The new hospital, proposed to open in 2032, would have an emergency department, trauma unit and specialist children's accident and emergency.

Specialist consultants in heart and strokes would also be based there, as well as an obstetrician-led maternity unit for complex births, neo-natal unit, and cancer unit.

The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester would then become a centre for planned operations and have a midwife-led birthing centre.

Heidi Coetzee fears the closure of an A&E department in Winchester would be a "death sentence" for patients like her

Cancer patient Heidi Coetzee said she is currently at risk of a heart attack, sepsis, a stroke because of her chemotherapy treatment.

She raised concerns over the impact of M3 traffic, explaining: "People like me are being sentenced to death because we're just not going to get there in time."

Miriam Coley from Winchester, who dressed as Florence Nightingale to attend the meeting, described the proposal as "frightening".

She said: "It's a very long way to Basingstoke, if you're looking at someone who's seriously ill that travel time could mean the outcome is not as good."

Doctor Rebecca Selman raised concerns about the proposed midwife-led birthing centre

Doctor Rebecca Selman, who works as a GP in the city, told the trust she had concerns about the new birthing centre.

She said: "The maternity unit is well used in Winchester. A midwife-led unit 22 miles away from an obstetrician is very dangerous for mums and babies.

"I don't think the midwife centre will get used, the Andover one is under-used because people don't want to risk a birth needing extra medical help and it not being available without a blue light transfer."

The plans would see the Royal Hampshire County Hospital's A&E department closed

Hampshire Hospitals Trust has said it "has to respond to the changing demographic of who it serves and expand its provision to meet the needs of a growing and aging population".

A spokesperson added parts of the Winchester hospital were built in the 19th Century and maintenance was costing "significant sums of money annually".

Services are continuing to operate as normal with the restructuring expected to take 10 years.

The trust's consultation will run until 17 March.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].