A PLANNED new hospital, which will treat tens of thousands of critically ill patients each year, is set to be built in North Waltham, it was announced this afternoon.

As previously reported in The Gazette the critical treatment hospital, which is expected to cost around £150million, will be built by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust alongside a new £18.5million cancer centre.

Today it was announced that the exact location of the hospital and cancer centre will be a greenfield site on the north side of the A30 near junction 7 of the M3.

The other option, which was considered and rejected by HHFT, was to build the critical treatment hospital on the site of Basingstoke hospital, in Aldermaston Road.

Mary Edwards, chief executive of HHFT, said: "We chose this site because it is the shortest possible ambulance time for our whole population.

"The site is very easily accessible and we worked in conjunction with ambulance crews and others to make sure this is the best possible site."

The hospital will treat patients in a critical or life-threatening condition, with staff dealing with major trauma injuries, heart attacks, strokes and other emergencies.

It will have specialist Emergency Department consultants available 24 hours a day, and will have CT and MRI scanners running around the clock.

There will also be a helipad on site for air ambulances.

Mrs Edwards said: "Only the most seriously injured patients will be treated at the critical treatment hospital.

"The general rule will be that patients will take themselves to the emergency departments at Basingstoke and Winchester, which will remain open, but patients will be taken by ambulance to the critical treatment hospital."

An exception to this, she said, would be mothers classed as high-risk, many of whom are expected to choose to give birth at the new hospital.

Midwife-led maternity centres, where expectant mothers will still be able to give birth, will be operational at Basingstoke, Winchester and Andover hospitals.

Mrs Edwards said: "There will not be women giving birth on the motorway.

"Women will have a full range of choices about where to give birth."

A pre-planning application will be submitted over the next couple of weeks to the borough council, with a full planning application to be submitted in March, followed by a public consultation.

The tender for the work should be completed by next November, and Monitor will then be invited to approve the plans.

Building work on the emergency hospital should begin in 2016, and be opened by the end of 2018.

Mrs Edwards added that various areas of Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals are expected to become redundant with the opening of the new hospital.

She said: "We have been speaking with Hampshire County Council about potential options for the site which could benefit the community, for example, elderly care facilities.

"There is a lot still to be decided, but this is a very exciting time for us."