Winchester Hospital’s A&E Closure

Fears have arisen after the NHS announced that the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, accident and emergency department may be closing.

There are plans to close Winchester and Basingstoke A&E departments, which might also see their consultant-led maternity services to be shut down too, as part of a restructuring of hospital provision in Hampshire.

The announcement of these plans has caused a stir amongst residents, as well as staff at the hospital, with a petition being created online to hopefully stop the removal of the departments. The petition is looking for 15,000 signatures, and has already amassed over 14,000 so far.

An NHS consultant released a statement suggesting that the Winchester and Basingstoke hospitals were “approaching the end of their usable lives”, with plans of shutting their A&E departments as a way to redesign the way we provide care for our population for decades to come.

The closure of both the Winchester and Basingstoke sites would not only cause disruptions for any emergent patients within these areas, but also raises concerns for Southampton health services, as they feel it could ramp up the pressure for all of their hospitals.

Plans for a new hospital to be established on the M3 in Basingstoke aims to help reduce concern for piled pressure that Southampton might face.