Responding to the Basingstoke Gazette’s petition to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to fulfil promises to build a new hospital for Basingstoke, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has admitted that the national programme will run out of funds in months.
The Gazette launched the petition calling on the government to commit to building a new Basingstoke hospital.
READ MORE: Gazette launches petition to government to build new Basingstoke hospital urgently
The town was promised a new hospital in 2020 as part of the then Conservative government’s New Hospital Programme.
But since then, the project has faced delays and setbacks and is now in limbo while a review takes place, the outcome of which will be published in 2025.
Now, The Basingstoke Gazette is calling for the government to make a firm commitment to building a new hospital for the town.
SIGN PETITION: Demand Health Secretary fulfils promise of a new hospital in Basingstoke
Our hardworking NHS staff are working in crumbling buildings that are no longer fit for purpose, and millions of pounds are being wasted on maintenance every year. Hospital staff and residents who live in Basingstoke deserve better.
Hampshire Together – the team behind the new hospital project – said the town’s hospital buildings are ‘at the end of their usable lives’ and that the quality of care is impacted because of the duplication of services at Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals, with resources ‘spread too thinly’.
It has also reported that, despite the efforts of hard-working staff, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) struggles to ‘consistently meet national best practice standards for staffing in key areas of care including maternity services, neonatal care and critical care’; operations are often cancelled at short notice; and waiting lists are increasing.
Responding to our petition, which is gaining momentum since it launched on January 6, the DHSC said: “Buildings and equipment across the NHS have been left to crumble, disrupting care and hindering staff.
“We inherited a New Hospital Programme (NHP) which was unrealistic and unaffordable, with the funding due to run out in March 2025.
“We are working up a timeline that is affordable, honest, and will rebuild our NHS.”
You can sign our petition here calling Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, to act now change.org/p/demand-health-secretary-fulfils-promise-of-a-new-hospital-in-basingstoke.