COUNTY councillor Andy Tree has threatened to call the NHS to account over the uncertainty surrounding health provision in Whitehill & Bordon.

Cllr Tree, who represents Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford on the county council, is also a member of the health and adult social care select committee, which monitors NHS services.

Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of services at the Chase Hospital while there is no sign of its potential replacement health hub in the new town centre.

Cllr Tree, who spoke at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, said: “I expressed concern that six months has passed since East Hampshire District Council said they would fund a health hub, and local people need to know what’s going on in terms of these plans and the future of Chase Hospital.

“The health and adult social care select committee has a role in scrutinising NHS services and so I asked that, if there is no positive movement on health provision plans by the next meeting in March, the NHS clinical commissioning group – the part of the NHS that pays for local services – are asked to come to the committee in May to explain and be questioned, given this was already delayed before Covid-19 existed.”

The June 24 meeting of East Hampshire District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee – the minutes of which were only recently released – saw the committee happy to back the council’s position of allocating £461,000 of developers’ Section 106 funding and a £530,000 Ecotown grant to the health hub, partly on the basis it would increase visitors to the new town centre.

Overview and scrutiny committee chairman Cllr Stephen Dolan said: “The committee considered the information presented and were willing to note the recommended way forward.”

Cllr Tree was not impressed with how the overview and scrutiny committee dealt with the issue.

He said: “Having watched the actual meeting, I was dismayed that the option of funding Chase Hospital was not asked about or properly debated.

“It is impossible to have a view on a health hub without seeing the final plans. Therefore my default position is to support Chase Hospital and expect the NHS clinical commissioning group to honour the 2013 Chase Charter.”