“Leave it alone.”

Those were the words voiced by one Hampshire resident when health chiefs met with the public to discuss plans to close Bitterne Walk-In Centre.

Scores of people went to the Drummond Community Centre in Hedge End to meet with officers from West Hampshire Clinical Care Commissioning Group (CCG) to discuss proposals to close down the centre.

Last year the organisation put forward plans for a pilot to close it for six months, but decided against it after residents and politicians of all parties opposed the move.

Medical chiefs said that residents living on the east side of Southampton should be making appointments to see their GP, calling NHS phone diagnosis service 111 out of hours, or using the Minor Injuries Unit at Royal South Hampshire Hospital before heading to Southampton General Hospital.

Maurice Bennett said: "You want to close down Bitterne Walk-In Centre and dump the problems on the NHS.

"You should be putting your energy into saving money. The system’s already stretched.

"Bitterne Walk-In Centre works very, very well.

"Leave it alone.”

Andrew Howe, who works as a night support worker at Two Saints homeless shelter in Southampton said 111 was “an inadequate service” and that they had to call 999 in order to help people at the shelter.

He said: “Have the increased costs been considered? There will be a considerable increase in costs for call outs.”

At another public meeting chaired by members from Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group, it was revealed a third of people who use the centre are from the area surrounding Eastleigh.

It costs about £1.3m a year to run the centre, and Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith says that as 34 per cent of patients are registered with GPs outside of the city Hampshire should contribute £480,000 a year to its running – an amount he says would provide most of the funding needed to keep it open.

Bitterne resident Paul Davy also questioned how medical chiefs could claim £102,000 could be spent on medication at the centre every year after he was provided with figures.

He said: “If I need a painkiller I buy it at a supermarket or chemist, like most people, so what on earth is £102,000 being spent on?

Even adding a modest sum for bandages/strapping/other first aid, it seems impossible to get to the cost of £50 for each and every hour it is open.”