SIR: It is obvious that the Hampshire health authority is still determined to waste the funding the NHS receives to build a new hospital, near Basingstoke, that is not required and will be detrimental to the public’s well being.

The money would better spent on improving local hospitals, so as not to centralise other treatments from the local hospitals. This will mean quite a few patients will not be able to afford the taxi fares or rely on buses that do not start early. If you have transport, fine, but there are quite a few people who have no transport; and before the authorities come out with the always ridiculous remark; ‘ask a neighbour’; what planet are you lot on? In most public dwelling areas there are different age groups, and they like to keep themselves to their own. They acknowledge you are in the area, but that is as far as it goes; they do not want to get involved on your problems. So much so that when remarking you have an appointment and can’t get there, they are and do remark ‘we are out that day’; but the vehicle does not move.

So stop being bureaucratically stupid and put the money to better use; for the good of patients more locally.

GN Barrett,

Nicholson Place,

Alresford