RESIDENTS concerned about the future services at a Hampshire hospital have launched their own bid to ensure service users’ voices get heard.
Members of the Eastleigh Southern Parish Older People’s Forum (ESPOPF) have launched their own website to gauge people’s opinion on services they would like to see at Moorgreen Hospital.
They also hope it will demonstrate the strength of feeling behind keeping such health services local.
This is in addition to a ‘listening exercise’ organised by health bosses on future services at the West End facility.
But with only days left before the end of the NHS consultation they are urging people to get online.
Members intend to hand the results of their survey in to West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group.
Forum members launched the survey in response to their fears for the hospital’s future services after Eastleigh Borough Council agreed a vision of what it would find acceptable for future development.
Although no planning application has been received one the council says one is expected imminently.
In its vision, health services would move onto pasture land in the eastern part of the site, off Botley Road, called the Donkey Field, clearing the way for up to 230 homes.
They are also concerned about the threat of closure to the Bitterne walk-in centre, saying if services are lost that residents could be forced to go to Southampton General Hospital – a significantly longer round trip that would put more pressures on services there.
The CCG has been holding a listening exercise for the last few weeks which it says is to assess how it can make best use of the site and what people would like to see there in recognition of housing developments in Eastleigh to make sure the right services are in place, but also potential development on the site.
This runs for a couple more weeks.
Tricia Garrett, secretary of the ESPOPF, said: “It only takes seconds but it could make a real difference - we don’t know but we’ve got to try.
“If we can prove that people in local community want services then we have got more chance of keeping it.
“We want to achieve keeping as much of Moorgreen as we can because obviously once it goes it goes.”
The group has already collected 2,450 signatures for a petition calling for further services to be developed at Moorgreen.
To complete the survey visit surveymoorgreen.co.uk.
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