The Conservatives’ promised new hospital in Basingstoke has been delayed once again, this time until 2048, leaving Winchester services in limbo.

Liberal Democrats, who have led the campaign to save Winchester A&E and consultant-led maternity services, are asking: what happens next?

Danny Chambers said, “I have said from the start that services must be saved and improved in Winchester. The Conservatives wanted to ship them off to Basingstoke and now Labour aren’t even building the hospital to ship them off to, it’s a total shambles. It will be a travesty if services are allowed to decline while communities wait decades for a new hospital”.

“If there isn’t a new hospital, existing sites like Winchester A&E and Maternity Services have to be maintained and upgraded, with more funding,” he said.  “I will continue to push for the  government to properly invest in our hospital”

With Conservatives banking on a new hospital, there is now a backlog of maintenance and upgrades needed for the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.

Lib Dem leader of Winchester City Council, Cllr Martin Tod said: “hospitals are already under extreme pressure with frail and elderly people waiting in corridors."

“It’s a national scandal, and it’s worse than ever. There’s no privacy, or dignity. There have been tragic cases of people dying on trolleys and left undiscovered for hours.” said Martin.

“The A&E corridor crisis has to end. That means investment in the services we have now, not waiting until 2048.”

Danny Chambers has introduced a motion in Parliament calling for action on the corridor care crisis. 2025 is projected to have been the worst year on record for patients being treated on trolleys in corridors.

Danny is demanding extra hospital beds and more social care packages to free up hospital places. In Hampshire, approximately one in five patients had no criteria to reside, but could not be discharged due to a lack of social care provision. This is detrimental to the patient, the staff and the health service as a whole. 

Danny says, “This winter, nearly 20% of patients are being treated in corridors rather than wards. The government’s lack of action on this scandal is failing patients and failing hardworking NHS staff.”

“We need real investment in Winchester’s NHS services to stop overcrowding, which increases infections and burns out hardworking staff”

The motion in full:

That this House recognises and observes that the NHS is facing a worst case scenario this winter, with influenza rates set to be the worst on record and 1 in 5 patients in emergency departments in a corridor care space; notes that the combination of over-crowding in hospitals with high levels of influenza gives rise to a deadly recipe for quality of care and that one worsens the other with no end in sight; further recognises that corridor care is now an all year round phenomenon for hospitals; also recognises that it is proven to contribute to increased mortality, workplace burn out, rising infections and worsened antimicrobial resistance; and calls on the Government to invest in health and social care to put an urgent end to corridor care.