"WE must look to the future not the past" a health chief has urged Bordon residents after the long-running proposal for the Chase Community Hospital cleared its final hurdle.

Chief executive of the North Hampshire Primary Care Trust Gill Duncan asked those at last Wednesday's meeting of the community health council to put past mistrust behind them and look forward to a brighter future at the hospital.

She said: "We have reached the point where I want to draw a line and look to a new beginning.

"I want to look forward at how we are going to work with staff, with GPs and the local steering group to make things work."

Ms Duncan spoke at the meeting of the CHC, which acts as a patient watchdog, to assure members and the public that local concerns were being listened to.

At the meeting, the CHC, which had the potential to halt the plans to convert the existing ward into a new 24-bed ward, unanimously agreed to support the plans - with provisos.

They picked up local fears that the hospital ward, which will be jointly funded by the NHS and social services, may eventually become a nursing home by default and said that measures would need to be put in place to prevent this.

At past meetings, residents expressed concerns that the flexible designation of 12 intermediate-care beds and 12 nursing home beds would mean that it was possible that the intermediate-care beds would eventually be taken over by nursing home patients.

However, the CHC agreed that it would only support the plans if the ward included two four-bedded bays, which could not be registered as nursing home beds, to ensure that there are always eight intermediate- care beds available to local people.

Chief officer Paul Mitchell said: "We appreciate that there has to be a degree of flexibility but the best way to allay concerns is by restricting the layout."

Gill Duncan told the meeting that, although the layout of the ward had not yet been designed, the NHPCT would ensure that it included the two four-bedded bays - against the advice of some members of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health Authority, who last Tuesday said that such measures were not necessary.

She said: "There are no plans drawn up yet. They will have to be drawn up by the Chase steering group which has local representation."

Ms Duncan also said that the future for the hospital was looking bright with work continuing to agree on the make-up of the new primary care diagnostic and treatment centre (DTC) - of which the Chase will be the first in the country.

She also said that because the government was keen for the NHS to come up with "new ways of thinking", she was sure that the Chase was certain of more funding in years to come.

"This is a fine example of the shape of health and social services that the government will want to continue funding," she said.

The chief executive also praised staff at the Chase who have remained at the hospital despite the long periods of uncertainty which have surrounded it.

"There has been a huge loyalty among staff. We have tried to work hard with staff and it has been difficult because it has been a huge time of uncertainty, but we have been doing the best that we can."

She said that once the new-look Chase was up and running there would be "exciting opportunities" for staff who could become multi-skilled and work not only on the ward but also in the DTC.

It is hoped that the final plans for the DTC will be agreed over the next few months and for new services to be in place towards the end of the year.

Final plans for the layout of the ward will be drawn up by the summer, with refurbishment work expected to begin early next year.