CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed a recommendation by health bosses to shelve plans for a new £150million hospital near Basingstoke.
Two clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) said in a letter to stakeholders that the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust scheme to build a critical treatment centre at North Waltham should not go to a public consultation, after a review of the finances.
It said the conclusion, which will be put forward to the boards of West Hampshire and North Hampshire CCGs next week, was that “this proposal cannot go forward to formal consultation at present.
“The primary reason for this is that the predicted costs of services supplied in this way significantly exceed the funds available to customers.”
North Waltham Action Group has long campaigned against the plan, arguing that the greenfield site chosen is not central to the trust’s area, and raising concerns about noise, traffic and the effect on the rural landscape.
Spokesperson Christine Rowley said: “We welcome that the CCGs are looking at the business case for this.
“HHFT are applying for planning permission before they have secured funding and that’s the wrong way round.
“If it was to go ahead, then they would spend £150million. They cannot afford to run three hospitals at the moment, how are they going to run four?”
The CCGs said in the letter that it will look at a re-design health and social care across north and mid Hampshire, and will consult with the public.
It added that it is still possible that the new hospital might emerge as the preferred option.
But two leading politicians have criticised the two CCGs.
Councillor Stephen Reid, who represent Hampshire County Council on the trust’s governing body, said the announcement was “unhelpful”.
Cllr Stephen Reid
The Conservative member for Hampshire North West said: “This is how millions of NHS pounds get wasted.
“In short the CCGs are proposing an expensive delay for yet another consultation, without knowing what a better solution might look like.
“During the delay, I guarantee that the population of North Hampshire will continue to rise, demand for NHS services will continue to grow and building costs will go up.
"I find this unacceptable: it is dither and delay, and a recipe for wasting NHS money.”
Basingstoke MP Maria Miller said: “The extensive consultation undertaken over the past year has established wide spread support for the new unit which would also be home to a new state of the art cancer centre.
“I have written to the head of the Clinical Commissioning Groups to ask for further details about the process used to come to this decision.
An artist's impression of the new hospital at North Waltham
“What has been announced could mean a significant delay to proceeding with this important improvement to healthcare in Basingstoke proposed by doctors.
“We need investment to expand local healthcare if Basingstoke is to adopt its current draft Local Plan which calls for thousands of new homes. This announcement questions the readiness of the local NHS to deliver for an increased Basingstoke population."
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