It doesn’t matter about the issue, as soon as there’s a whiff of change in the Winchester air those with too much time on their hands and no expertise come to the fore.

Be it Silver Hill or Station Approach, too many people fancy themselves armchair experts who largely ignore or constantly disagree with anyone who might actually be qualified. All it does is cause endless delays while the unqualified seem to gain a platform and generate nothing but hot air for years.

Now we have almost identical rhetoric coming from more armchair experts who don’t like the government building them a brand new £900 million hospital because it’s 10 or so minutes up the road.

I was amused to see a man, described as a writer, pontificating on the front page of the Hampshire Chronicle, no less, (March 7) about how we must have a different consultation on the plans, I assume to fit more with his own 'expert' view that A&E should remain in the city.

I’m sure he didn’t intend to sound quite so condescending when he described as 'trying to do their best' the actual experts at the NHS frontline who work to deliver new hospitals and who might know a thing or two.

It's amazing this man and many others think these qualified and experienced senior NHS people haven’t really got a clue. 

‘Winchester absolutely should have an A&E because… well… it’s Winchester!’ I’m sure they chant at bedtime in the absence of, I suspect, any knowledge about modern and increasingly complex healthcare delivery.

If I was the government, I would pull the money so the Luddites who oppose 21st century, purpose-built, technologically-advanced hospitals can die more conveniently at their precious and knackered Royal Hampshire County Hospital after probably entering via its equally knackered and unfit for purpose A&E.


Martin Halfpenny,

Green Lane,

Monxton,

Andover