Town centre hospital plans backed

The council wants a new hospital to be built in Dover by April 2011

Plans to build a new hospital in the centre of Dover have been backed by Kent County Council.

The Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust is considering the future of hospital services in the town.

In-patient wards at Buckland Hospital in Dover have been closed and the centre currently houses a minor injuries clinic.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) said it hoped the new hospital would be completed by April 2011.

'Quality of life'

HOSC chairman, Geoffrey Horne, said: "Throughout this process there has been a transparency with the PCT and they have listened and moved as the optimum scenario emerges.

"With Dover seeking regeneration in all areas, especially around the town centre, the hospital will be a trigger for enhancing the quality of life.

"This new facility will be completed by April 2011, with further expansion available, and as it is centrally located it should enable improved access for everyone and I hope it will be a jewel in the crown of Dover."

But Reg Hansell, chairman of the New Dover Hospital group, wants a new hospital to be built in Whitfield on the outskirts of the town.

He said: "Before it's even completed it will be landlocked and cannot expand. We don't expect to get a general hospital straight away but it would allow a general hospital to be expanded."

Mr Hansell said the site in Whitfield they favoured could be developed and was on a bus route.