A SUCCESSFUL bid to keep surgeons at a Portsmouth hospital may save the lives of patients in Liphook.

Health chiefs have seen the light by agreeing to keep a team of vascular surgeons at Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA) in Cosham. The decision follows months of pressure over a bid to move the specialist surgeons along the M27 to Southampton.

Opponents said the move would endanger the lives of critically-ill patients because of the extra distance they would have to travel.

Residents in East Hampshire would be among the worst affected, as most people who need surgery are treated at QA.

For full story, see this week's Liphook Herald.