Basingstoke’s new hospital is planned for delivery in 2032, giving time to ensure the full benefits of this £900m investment in our healthcare system yields the best opportunities for the whole community. 

At the beginning of the Summer, it was announced that the Treasury has ringfenced an incredible £900m to fully fund the delivery of a new hospital for our community and that it will open its doors in 2032. 

Before spades are put into the ground and plans are finalised, the NHS needs to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the plans and a public consultation is expected shortly. Of course, hospital design has progressed significantly since our current hospital was built in the 1970s and building the new hospital from scratch allows us to adopt the latest technologies and design to ensure Basingstoke residents receive outstanding healthcare for generations to come. 

As well as the direct healthcare benefits, the new hospital provides us with other opportunities to help ensure the maximum benefit from such a significant investment of taxpayer money. A bespoke science park and medical training facility will be high on the list. 

Science parks have seen huge growth over recent years as has Government funding for STEM research and development. Having such a facility attached to the new hospital would help form a hub for cutting-edge medical and scientific innovation. This could provide more of the high-quality, well-paid jobs we want in Basingstoke, and act as a training centre and a hook for even more external investment. 

A similar set-up already exists at the current hospital, albeit on a smaller scale. The Ark Centre is a leading medical education venue, as well as an international conference centre. Through Merv Rees OBE and his team, Basingstoke has one of the world’s leading liver surgeons and it was, in no small part, his input that led to the establishment of the Ark Centre (and the Ark Cancer Centre Charity, the Pelican Cancer Foundation, and the Ark Medical Trust) on the current hospital site.

Whilst the exact plans for the design of the new hospital are being developed, using the success of the Ark Centre, the new hospital can help establish Basingstoke as a broader centre of expertise in medical research and training. 

Basingstoke is the perfect location for a new centre of expertise. We have excellent universities nearby, including Southampton and Reading, with medical, dental, and veterinary schools all within commuting distance. A new science park and medical training centre linked to our existing university neighbours could establish pathways for young people to come to our town as part of their studies. 

Over recent years there have been more than 1,000 new jobs in Basingstoke in the healthcare sector, and adult nursing ranks in the top three courses people apply for in Basingstoke. It is clear from these numbers that we have access to a pool of talent wanting to pursue a career in healthcare which we should do our utmost to nurture. 

Basingstoke can be a shining example of the NHS operating at its best, rethinking the way healthcare is done. As a town, we must harness this once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish a healthcare hub that will act as a magnet for high-quality employment and investment for decades into the future. 

By Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke