HAMPSHIRE health watchdogs have hit out at plans to keep beds at a New Forest community hospital closed.

All 20 beds at the Fenwick Hospital in Lyndhurst were shut in January for a temporary three-month period.

New Forest Primary Care Trust bosses last week revealed that the beds would remain closed for a further five months.

They said that a final decision would not be made until further consultation on the future of the district's five community hospitals - at Hythe, Fordingbridge, Lyndhurst, Milford and Romsey - is completed.

The Fenwick situation was high on the agenda when the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss various proposals to change NHS services across the county.

Committee chairman Councillor Dr Ray Ellis said: "The fact that Fenwick Hospital will not be re-opening as expected is of great concern.

"Formal consultation with the public is now under way, and we will work hard to ensure that any decision made on the future of Fenwick reflects the needs of the community it serves."

The committee works with NHS bodies and other organisations to help develop and plan services to improve the health of the people of Hampshire.

Cash-strapped New Forest trust bosses need to save a massive £18.9m this year alone.

They admitted at a board meeting last week that all or some of the 91 inpatient beds in the New Forest and Romsey would definitely be axed.

New Forest health chiefs want to move care into the community, with patients being looked after in their own homes or nursing homes.

BRIEFING SESSION FOR COUNCILLORS AND THE PUBLIC:

A SPECIAL briefing session for councillors and members of the public on the Primary Care Trust's plans for community hospitals will take place after a full council meeting on Monday, June 13.

John Richards, chief executive of the PCT, will attend the meeting at the Lyndhurst Park Hotel in Lyndhurst to outline the forthcoming public consultation process.

The briefing will be the last item on the agenda of an extraordinary council meeting called to discuss the council's Performance Plan at 6.30pm.

The venue has been moved from the council chamber at Appletree Court because of anticipated public demand.