STAFF members fear that a shake-up of surgery services provided at Winchester hospital will have a negative impact on patient care and result in job losses - despite counter-claims from the managing trust.

The transformation of orthopaedics at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT), which manages Royal Hampshire County Hospital (RHCH), was implemented on December 4 and concerns have already been raised by those working on the unit.

The changes mean that inpatient trauma operations no longer take place at Winchester, instead walk-in patients, quite often in pain, are forced to travel over 20 miles to Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital (BNH) for emergency surgery on broken bones. Those who are brought to hospital by ambulance are being taken to the Basingstoke hospital directly.

A member of staff said: “Trauma patients who require admission or surgery will now have to be treated at BNH. This will increase the suffering of patients as they face longer journeys to hospital especially those who live south of Winchester such as Bishop’s Waltham, Fair Oak and Eastleigh.”

Julie Maskery, chief operating officer at HHFT, said: “We are excited about this new service model for trauma and orthopaedic care, which incorporates the very latest thinking based on national best practice and will enable us to provide the best possible care for all of our patients.”