Last year it was announced that funding had been allocated Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) to build a new hospital in the region.

As previously reported in the Gazette, the government has allocated funding for the trust as part of its Health Infrastructure Plan for hospital building projects.

But the location for where this new hospital will be built is still unknown, with HHFT now seeking the public's opinion on the matter.

What has been described as the "biggest modernisation programme in 50 years", the Hampshire Together program will involve all NHS and social care services across Alton, Andover, Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Winchester and the surrounding areas.

A message from HHFT read: "The centrepiece will be the construction of a brand new hospital – but the programme’s impact will reach far beyond the walls of this new building, involving GPs, mental health, community care, social care and the wider voluntary sector, as well as acute hospital care.

"The central aim is to deliver a joined-up healthcare system that supports patients, their families and their carers to access the right care, in the right place, at the right time in order to keep them healthy.

"The programme is being led by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Groups and West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group, in partnership with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital, in Winchester."

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Throughout June and July, the NHS trust will be seeking the views of the public based on a listening document that looks to explain the challenges currently faced, the opportunities that the programme presents and the factors that need to be considered when making the choices.

The listening document, along with more information about the programme and an online comment form can be found at www.hampshiretogether.nhs.uk.