Published: Friday, 10th July, 2009 11:48am

Public demands answers on hospital's future

by Lee Jones

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THE message to health bosses from patients was loud and clear - 'we want to keep our hospital.'

Around 150 concerned members of the public converged on the Licensed Victuallers" School in Ascot for a public meeting last night (Thursday) and demanded answers about the future of Heatherwood Hospital.

All in attendance were determined that Heatherwood remains open for many years to come and continues to provides the range of services currently on offer.

Royal Borough councillors were joined by representatives from Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Berkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), and NHS South Central Strategic Health Authority at the meeting.

Amongst the topics on the agenda were the £20 million hole in the hospital"s budget for this year, the impact this could have on services and patients, and the long-term future of the hospital.

While the Trust"s Andrew Grimshaw was grilled about the hospital"s financial difficulties, members of the public were reassured when Lise Llewelyn, CEO of East Berkshire PCT, announced that the number of services provided by Heatherwood would remain the same for this year and the foreseeable future.

For more about Heatherwood"s future see the News on Thursday.

*Were you at the public meeting last night? What are your thoughts on the long-term future of Heatherwood? Post your comments below or call the Newsdesk on 01344 456611.