Hampshire hospitals restructuring travel time worries played down

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals Trust, said the plans were "game changing"

Concerns about increased travel times to hospital have been played down during a consultation on restructuring.

Under plans announced last year, a new acute specialist hospital would be built in or near Basingstoke.

The A&E at Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital would be replaced by an urgent treatment centre (UTC).

The NHS insisted any extra travel time in an ambulance would be less significant given the new hospital's improved facilities.

A public consultation on the £700-900m proposals to restructure hospital provision in Hampshire is entering its final stages. 

Hampshire Hospitals restructuring proposals

The restructuring will affect the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital

• A new acute hospital would be built either on the site of the current Basingstoke hospital or on fields off the M3's Junction 7

• As well as emergency and trauma units, specialist consultants in heart and strokes would be based at the new hospital, as well as an obstetrician-led maternity unit for complex births, neo-natal unit, and a cancer unit

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

• The new 24/7 doctor-led Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) in Winchester would deal with about 60% of emergencies.

• The existing accident and emergency department in Winchester would close

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the changes were needed to deal with demographic changes and would create "21st Century healthcare".

A petition opposing the closure of Winchester A&E has attracted more than 18,000 signatures, arguing the city has a larger population and better transport links than Basingstoke.

Residents at the latest of a series of consultation events held in Winchester expressed concerns about journey times for patients in need of emergency care.

Hasmita Patel was among those attending the consultation event in Winchester

Hasmita Patel said: "I travel to Basingstoke for work and sometimes the traffic can be really bad." 

Alison Coulter said: "What goes where and how do you decide whether they need the UTC or Emergency Department?"

The trust's chief executive, Alex Whitfield, told the BBC: "A few more minutes in an ambulance is much less important than what happens when you arrive at the hospital.

"The fact that you have got a team of people, 24 hours a day with all the equipment and specialist skills,who will meet that ambulance and do that intervention which may very well save your life."

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

Ms Whitfield said the planned refurbished hospital in Winchester would be "game changing".

"Today we are having to cancel operations because we don't have beds or theatre capacity for the planned work because we are using it all for the emergency work," she said.

"This proposal means people waiting for procedures like hip or knee replacements can get them."

The consultation on the proposals continues until 17 March.

Hampshire Hospitals Trust will make a decision on which of three options should be chosen in late summer.

The new hospital is expected to be completed by 2032. 

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