THE CLOSURE-threatened Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport is taking on more surgery to ease pressure at other local hospitals.

The news has boosted the long-running campaign to keep Haslar open.

The hospital already handles around 250 orthopaedic operations and 120 general surgery cases a month, but is now to take a further 100 general cases each month.

The extra surgery will be cases classed as "intermediate", such as operations on gall bladders, varicose veins and hernias.

The move, which is due to start in April, is designed to take the pressure off the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.

NHS bosses are to keep a close eye on Haslar's handling of the extra burden.

The news comes as a fillip to the hard-fought campaign to save the site from closure, an event currently earmarked for 2007.

Gosport MP Peter Viggers, who has been spearheading a major campaign to save Haslar, welcomed the move as underlining the site's importance to local healthcare.

He said: "It is still official policy to close Haslar by 2007, but everyone involved in hospital services in south Hampshire knows Haslar is an essential part of the service and that it would be unwise to close it."

Another leading member of the Save Haslar Task Force, Gosport councillor Peter Edgar said: "We have always said the health authority would not be able to do without Haslar, but we never anticipated there would be such a massive increase in demands for its services.

"The need for medical services has escalated alarmingly and has put pressure on the hospital's trust. Haslar is seeing an increasing demand for its services on a daily basis."

The move follows a recent announcement that Haslar's accident and treatment centre will close during the night due to under use and staff heading off to the Gulf War.

An average of just four people a night used the centre, making it uneconomic to keep it open.

It will reopen at night when staff return from the war.