PROPOSALS for a single, new hospital to serve the Forest have been narrowly rejected by local people.

Health chiefs have admitted that a lack of clarity on the site of the new facility and the number of beds had cost public support.

There were 3,344 responses to a consultation from the Glou-

cestershire Care Services NHS Trust, with the largest proportion – 46 per cent or 1,534 people – coming out against the trust’s single hospital proposal compared with 43 per cent, or 1,425 people, in support. Some 12 per cent, 385 people gave a ‘don’t know’ response.

Campaigners have demanded that the proposals are immediately dropped with Lydney and the Dilke hospitals being retained.

The report on the outcome of the consultation states: “A significant number of comments indicated that respondents would be able, or more likely, to support the preferred option if two factors were known; namely the location of the new hospital and the services to be provided in the new hospital, including more detail regarding the number of beds.”

Recommendations about the next steps will be presented to boards of Gloucestershire Care Services and the county’s clinical commissioning group on Thursday, January 25.

Health chiefs will look at issues raised in the consultation such as bed numbers and travel and access and whether they would force the ‘preferred option’ to be reconsidered.

If the boards support the single hospital proposal, they will start work on establishing a location along with criteria to be used and the process to arrive at a recommendation.

Campaign group HOLD – Hands Off Lydney and the Dilke – described the consultation result as “great news”.

It added: “We must demand that the trust listen to the people of the Forest and scrap their plans to close the Dilke and Lydney hospitals.”

Last night (Tuesday), the group was due to demonstrate outside the offices of Cinderford Town Council which had supported the proposal.