ALL face-to-face outpatients appointments at Basingstoke hospital will be conducted by telephone.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who run Andover War Memorial Hospital as well as Basingstoke and Winchester Hospitals, will now happen on the phone, unless otherwise stated.

It will come into effect on Monday and patients will be contacted if they still need to attend.

The chief medical officer at the trust confirmed that this is to ensure safe patient care.

Dr Lara Alloway said: "For the safety of our patients, their families and our staff for the past few weeks we have been moving some outpatient appointments from being face-to-face to being telephone based. Due to the on-going situation with COVID-19 and in order to ensure we can continue to deliver the highest possible standards of safe care, this will be the default position as of Monday 30 March.

“From Monday all out-patient appointments will be conducted by phone unless there is a clear clinical need. If this is you, you will be contacted directly. If you are not contacted, your appointment will be by phone. In addition, some non-urgent appointments may be delayed or cancelled.

“Please do not attempt to attend your appointment in person unless contacted – you will not be seen.”