EHDC will review its near £1m for the Whitehill & Bordon Health Hub unless the NHS proves the funding by 24 December. If not, it wants Chase Hospital kept.

East Hampshire District Council has given the NHS until Christmas Eve to prove that the long-promised Health Hub in Whitehill & Bordon is really coming. If it cannot, the council will look again at the almost £1 million it set aside for the project in 2021.

Whitehill & Bordon is about eight miles north-east of Petersfield. The hub was meant to replace both Chase Hospital and Forest Surgery in the growing town.

The council set out the deadline in a statement published on 24 September.

What the council is asking for

The council wants two things in writing by 24 December:

  • confirmation that all the funding needed to build and run the hub is in place
  • confirmation that formal terms have been agreed between the NHS and the landowner

The landowner is the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). Its developer is the Whitehill Bordon Regeneration Company (WBRC). The NHS side is the Integrated Care Board (ICB), the body that plans and pays for local health services.

According to the council, the ICB has still not agreed terms with the DIO and WBRC. Nor has it confirmed that the money to build and run the hub exists.

If nothing arrives, the council’s cabinet will consider rescinding the 2021 allocation. It would then talk to NHS Property Services and the ICB about keeping and improving Chase Hospital instead.

What the hub was supposed to include

The council describes the planned hub as an “exemplar facility”. According to its statement, it would include:

  • more GP (primary care) space
  • all the services Chase Hospital provides now
  • facilities to meet NHS dentistry needs
  • the possibility of an urgent treatment centre in future

What the council leaders said

Cllr Richard Millard, the council’s leader, said the 2021 funding decision “was made in good faith, to bring high-quality, trailblazing health provision to Whitehill & Bordon”.

“But I am utterly dismayed by the lack of progress by NHS, DIO and WBRC,” he said. He called the deadline “the final opportunity for them to provide us with proof and confidence that a Health Hub is coming”.

Cllr Andy Tree, deputy leader and portfolio holder for Whitehill & Bordon, said: “I have been very patient on behalf of residents but my patience has run out.”

He added: “If an enhanced Health Hub that is better than the current Chase Hospital and Forest Surgery offering cannot be provided with the potential for a future urgent treatment centre, Chase Hospital must be retained.”

What it means for you

Nothing changes to local health services today. Chase Hospital and Forest Surgery carry on as they are.

The date to watch is 24 December. After that, the council’s cabinet may decide whether the money stays with the hub or goes towards keeping Chase Hospital. Cabinet papers are published on the council’s committee website about a week before each meeting. We will report what the NHS and the council say when the deadline passes.

The council is also handing nine community buildings and spaces in the town, including the Forest Community Centre, to Whitehill Town Council, as it announced this month.

Sources