BORDON residents will have their last chance on Tuesday to hear about, and air their views on, the plans for the Chase Community Hospital.
At the last public meeting of the consultation period health chiefs will continue their attempt to win back the trust of local residents, who were in despair over the original proposals to close the only ward at the Bordon hospital.
Government funding has enabled health chiefs to put forward fresh plans for a refurbished 24-bed ward which will house a mixture of intermediate care beds for local residents and nursing home-style beds.
These will be jointly funded by the North Hampshire Primary Care Trust and Hampshire County Council social services, enabling the trust to save money and social services to increase its number of nursing home beds.
Views are also being sought on the way that the beds would be temporarily provided while the proposed refurbishment takes place.
Health bosses are also keen to hear residentsÕ opinions on the planned new primary care treatment and diagnostic centre, although this is not part of the formal consultation.
The trust has admitted that it has a lot of work to do before it regains the trust of local people, but is hoping that the fresh plans will be a first step.
The last public meeting is being held at St MarkÕs Shared Church in Pinehill Road at 7 pm, where trust chief executive Gill Duncan will give a presentation of the plans and answer questions.
The five-week consultation process will come to an end on April 15.
The final decision over the future of the hospital will be made on April 23 by the newly-created strategic Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health Authority.
A venue for the meeting has not yet been agreed, but the authority is unlikely to agree to hold it in Bordon as the North and Mid Hampshire Health Authority, which has now been disbanded, had previously done.
It is expected that the April 23 meeting, the first for the new strategic health authority, will take place in either Portsmouth or Southampton.
Health authority spokesman Adrian Osborne said: ÒLocal people should come along, because it is an important opportunity for people to have their say.Ó