A PUBLIC consultation on how to invest up to £900 million in a new hospital in Hampshire has come to Romsey.

Speaking at Romsey Town Forum on November 21, Elizabeth Kerwood, associate director of community involvement for the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight spoke to members of the public and councillors about the public's response to the consultation.

She said: "The plan will be a challenge because of the finances and because of the demographics, but the planning has been done. There's a national 10-year plan that's being put together at the moment and that will include the private care networks."

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The three plans for a new hospital in Hampshire (Image: Sebastian Haw) There was some confusion among audience members over the concept of "virtual wards", which are part of the trust's strategy going forward.

Ms Kerwood explained: "Let's say somebody had heart failure, and it's getting a bit worse. In the old days, we would say alright, come in [to the hospital]. Now we might come and see you at home and bring some kit, and the kit might be a screen that you talk to, something that you put on your finger, and then [...] digital platforms take your readings."

Also discussed were the three different plans for a new hospital in Hampshire and residents' reactions to the proposals.

The first plan is a new specialist acute hospital in Basingstoke on the site of the current hospital. The new hospital would have an emergency department, but Winchester would not.

The other two plans both include a new specialist acute hospital in Winchester, and only differ in that one of them includes nurse-led rehabilitation services being established at the current Basingstoke hospital.

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On its website, Hampshire Together says: "[We] will consider the feedback from the consultation, along with a wide range of other evidence, information and data to develop a decision-making business case and use that to decide which option to implement."

It continues: "We will continue to share information with staff, patients, local people, and wider stakeholders during this time.

"Our final decision-making meeting will be held in public to allow those who are interested to hear the discussion and how the decision is made. We will publish the details of this meeting when they are available."

The total funding for these new projects is between £700 million and £900 million.