Basingstoke hospital plans shelved as 'not affordable' Published duration 24 September 2015

image copyright Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust image caption Plans for the critical treatment hospital at North Waltham have been put on hold

The NHS is shelving plans for a new £150m hospital near Basingstoke because of a lack of money.

Proposals for the critical treatment hospital by junction 7 of the M3 at North Waltham have been placed on hold until further notice.

Two clinical commissioning groups (CCG) said "costs... were not affordable".

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was "disappointed" but "fully appreciated the challenging financial context that the NHS faces".

Alongside the new critical treatment hospital, the hospitals at Basingstoke and Winchester were looking be redeveloped to focus on non-emergencies.

Main towns such as Andover, Eastleigh and Alton were earmarked for getting their own care centres.

But the Joint Commissioners' Steering Group, made up of commissioners from North Hampshire and West Hampshire CCGs, have recommended "they should not take... proposals for a new critical treatment hospital to formal public consultation at this stage".

Critical treatment, such as that provided for patients who have suffered heart attacks, strokes or major injuries, accounts for 15% of all care Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides.

The greenfield site at North Waltham was selected because it offered "the shortest possible ambulance time for our whole population".

Mary Edwards, the trust chief executive, said: "Clearly we are disappointed that consultation is not going ahead yet.

"We will continue to pursue solutions that are affordable and deliver high quality patient care."

The North Waltham Action Group had opposed the plans for the new hospital because of concerns over traffic, noise and light pollution, and the effect the development would have on the rural landscape.

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