A “CITIZENS’ jury” of 22 Foresters will provide a community view on the site of a new hospital – but the controversy over the closure of existing facilities still rages.

The brief for the jury of 18 residents and four local healthcare professionals is to indicate whether the hospital should be sited in or near Cinderford, Coleford or Lydney.

But the Friends group at The Dilke Hospital in Cinderford has become the latest to add its voice to the disquiet over hospital facilities in the Dean.

They say the Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust – which is behind the £11.5 million new hospital along

with the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group – needs to carefully review previous consultations and all aspects of healthcare.

In a letter to the Review, while firmly denying they are “agita-

tors or political”, the Friends group, said that without looking again at the background, “ironically the new hospital may... not be fit for purpose before a spade has even been struck.”

It follows the launch of a campaign by the Forest Labour Party to retain the current hospitals, a bid by HOLD – Hands Off Lydney and the Dilke – to have a judicial review of the decision for a single fac-

ility and the result of

a public consultation which saw a narrow majority against one hospital.

The jury will sit for three and a half days to hear expert evidence before being asked to decide which location will best serve the Forest.

Local people are being invited to put themselves forward as potential jurors by com-

munity interest company Citizens’ Juries which is supported by the University of Manchester.

The jury will start its work on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29 and will sit until Friday, June 1 with jurors receiving £350 to ensure nobody is out of pocket for taking part.

Director of Citizens’ Juries, Dr Malcolm Oswald, told the Review: “We will be looking to select a jury balanced in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, employment status and education.

“A very important variable with this jury will be to get a good spread of people from across the Forest.

“There will be a mix of people who will be brought together for three and a half days and who will be presented with evidence from expert witnesses.

“They will reach a conclusion which will be fed into the public policy process and go to the two bodies (Glou­cestershire Care Services NHS Trust (GCS) and the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

“The brief is about where the jury thinks the best location will be, it is not about revisiting old debates.”

The final decision will be decided using the supplementary vote system: if one of the three options has more than 50 per cent support then it will go forward to the GCS and CCG boards.

If none of the locations has more than half the votes, the one with the least support is eliminated and the second preferences of those who voted for it are added to the remaining options to find a ‘winner’.

The boards will consider the jury’s decision, but they will not be under any obligation to follow it.

Applications have to be made to Citizens’ Juries by Sunday, April 22, either online or by phone.

To apply online, visit www.citizensjuries.org and click on the link for the Forest jury on the home page which will take you to an online form.

Phone applications can be made by calling or texting 07983 413064 where somebody will fill in the application form for you.

A shortlist will then be drawn up and a follow-up call will be made to ensure potential jurors understand the process.

As part of the consultation process, there was overwhelming support for the public to have some input to the decision on where the hospital will be sited.