Hampshire Together, responsible for plans to build a new hospital for Basingstoke, said it has delayed moving to the next stage because it is taking longer than planned to review and evaluate feedback gathered during a 14-week public consultation held between December 2023 and March 2024.
This could include considering ‘alternative suggestions’ or carrying out further work, it said.
In an update issued on the project, Hampshire Together said its public consultation has been assessed by the Consultation Institute, under its Consultation Quality Assurance Scheme, and it fully met the requirements for ‘best practice’.
READ MORE: Gazette launches petition to government to build new Basingstoke hospital urgently
It added: “NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, together with NHS England in relation to specialised services, are now reviewing all the feedback, along with a wide range of other evidence, information and data to develop a Decision-Making Business Case.
“The Decision-Making Business Case will provide an evidence base to inform decision-making by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight and NHS England. As part of this Decision-Making Business Case, any new evidence or alternative options are assessed.”
Hampshire Together said reviewing and evaluating all the information and evidence is ‘vital to the next stages of the plans to improve Hampshire’s hospitals and the quality and sustainability of hospital services’.
It added: “It is important that sufficient time is spent thoroughly analysing all the feedback received as this can alter how the consulted proposals are understood and alternative suggestions may need to be considered or further work undertaken. Owing to the quantity, quality and breadth of feedback this part of the process has taken longer than originally planned.”
The news comes as the Gazette launched a petition to the government calling for the urgent delivery of a new Basingstoke hospital, which was promised to the town more than five years ago but has faced numerous delays.
The Department for Health and Social Care said that money for the New Hospital Programme runs out in March and it is currently undertaking a review of the schemes in the programme, including Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Referring to the next steps for the new hospital project, Hampshire Together said: “NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight are also considering how to ensure the sustainable staffing of services for the future and which proposals provide the best value for money. There continues to be ongoing engagement with patients, carers, clinicians, community and voluntary groups, local MPs, health providers and local authorities to help us assess the feedback, its impact on the programme and whether further steps are required.”
The Decision Making Business Case will be considered this year at an NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board meeting held in public where the decisions required to progress the programme will be discussed and taken.
Further details of the meeting will follow for those who want to hear the discussion and how the decision is made.