WE'RE writing in support of the Gazette’s campaign to build a new hospital in Basingstoke.

We know the significant challenges we all face with health services in our borough. Getting hold of a GP or an NHS dentist is almost impossible, long waits at A&E and the fact we don’t have a 24 hour pharmacy. Getting the actual treatment you need for simple illnesses let alone complex health problems can be a lottery. The NHS is on its knees and it needs investment and for Government to stop meddling in reorganising it every few years.

READ MORE: Join our campaign to secure commitment from the government to 'Build Our Hospital'

We really do need a new hospital. There is wide spread support for it and it will make a huge difference.

All we care about, as we suspect most people do, is that the new hospital is actually delivered. We get it, we have a General Election on the way and some politicians have made promises on their leaflets and in press releases, those words are now coming back at them.  

The letters to the hospital trust from Government say the money is ‘indicative’ and separately in reply to the Gazette the Department for Health has said the funding is not guaranteed. The highly respected Public Accounts Committee has received evidence that cohort 4 of the Government’s Hospital Building Programme, the cohort that lists Basingstoke, is not funded, rather future spending reviews will need to confirm that funding.

The hospital trust are yet to apply for any planning approval. They are working up the business case and undertaking consultation. They are doing all they have been asked to do by the Government. People can still take part in the consultation at hampshiretogether.nhs.uk.

Residents are not doing the NHS a disservice, nor are they pontificating as some politicians have accused them of. People want a new hospital, but they also deserve the truth. We are all big enough to hear the truth and then we can all get on with the job of supporting the hospital trust. If a location at Junction 7 is chosen and eventually comes forward that will involve significant challenges for those local communities and so an open, transparent process is critical to ensure people can have faith in any decisions that are made. All of that is based on whether the money is actually committed not simply ‘indicative’.

The only thing that matters is that we begin to address the crisis our NHS services face throughout Basingstoke and Deane so that we get the healthcare we need.

Cllr Paul Harvey - Leader of the council

Cllr Gavin James - Co-Leader of the council

Cllr John McKay, Cllr Laura James, Cllr Kerry Morrow, Cllr Chris Tomblin, Cllr Andy Konieczko, Cllr Onnalee Cubitt - cabinet members

Send letters by email to newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk or by post to Editor, Andover Advertiser/Basingstoke Gazette, Absolutely Offices, Lutyens Cl, Lychpit, Basingstoke RG24 8AG.

All letters and e-mails must include full names and addresses (anonymous letters will not be published), although these details may be withheld from publication, on request.

Letters of 300 words or less will be given priority, although all are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, or legal requirements. We reserve the right to edit letters.