DIVIDED views between Basingstoke and Winchester residents were expressed during a consultation on plans to build a new hospital.

Analysis from Hampshire Together’s consultation on plans to build a new hospital for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) shows that 70 per cent of respondents who live closest to Basingstoke hospital agreed with the proposal to separate planned care from specialist and emergency care, compared with only a third of respondents living closest to Winchester hospital (33 per cent).

As part of the consultation, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight put forward three proposed options which residents, NHS staff and stakeholders were encouraged to give their views on.

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Under the plans, Basingstoke’s emergency department and maternity services would be relocated - as would Winchester’s - and some services across Hampshire centralised.

A dedicated children’s emergency department would be created at the new hospital, as well as an obstetrician-led birthing unit alongside a midwife-led birthing unit.

Services such as outpatient appointments, diagnostics, therapy services, and day-care surgery would continue from the current Basingstoke hospital site.

Winchester hospital would be upgraded to have a dedicated planned surgery centre, meaning that specialist and emergency care would be separated.

When asked about the proposed locations for a new specialist acute hospital, a substantial 69 per cent of respondents who live closest to Basingstoke hospital were in favour of it being built on a new site near Junction 7 of the M3.

In contrast, only 49 per cent of respondents living closest to Winchester hospital were in favour of the new site, while 40 per cent believe neither location is suitable.

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The NHS in Hampshire plans to build a new hospital and to invest in Winchester hospital.

It intends to separate planned care from specialist and emergency care, creating two hospitals.

It is proposed that the dedicated planned surgery centre should be at the Winchester hospital site, while the new specialist acute hospital that would provide specialist and emergency care should be at either the current Basingstoke hospital site or a new site located near Junction 7 of the M3 motorway.

Respondents living near Winchester disagreed with the plan to have two separate hospitals, with 61 per cent against this idea, compared to 23 per cent of respondents who live closest to Basingstoke.

The questionnaire analysis also showed a much higher proportion of respondents from the Winchester area with 70 per cent living here compared to just 30 per cent from the Basingstoke area, which equates to just 702 people.

The questionnaire received 3,685 responses, including more than 600 NHS staff members and 3,027 residents and other individuals.

Of those who filled it in, 92 per cent of NHS staff and 79 per cent of residents and other individuals agreed that change is needed.