HEALTH chiefs were today urged to keep their promise to build a community hospital in Fareham.

The plea came after Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority began discussions about possibly delaying the project to save costs.

As reported in the Daily Echo earlier this week, board members are considering putting the scheme planned for the Coldeast site back two years to 2010 in a bid to save costs.

Campaigners fear the move will leave Fareham residents having to travel nearly ten miles to St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth for treatment.

At a meeting in Southampton yesterday health authority board members were told how the project might have to be phased in because of budget constraints.

Hampshire county councillor Dr Ray Ellis spoke out about the danger of concentrating healthcare facilities in Portsmouth and not in neighbouring communities.

"We are seriously concerned and have been for some time," he said.

" There is too much concentration on the hubs and not enough on the spokes. If anything, we want to shorten the timescale - not lengthen it."

Barry Lipscomb, a non-executive director at the health authority, said: "The journey from Fareham to St Mary's is not the easiest for patients and their families."

The meeting was told there was an overall funding gap of £3m for plans to revamp healthcare facilities across Portsmouth and south east Hampshire.

A group drawn from all local NHS organisations is currently studying the financial implications of building community hospitals in the area.

Health chiefs are expected to make a final decision about whether to press ahead or delay the Fareham scheme at a meeting in April.

After yesterday's meeting, Save Haslar Task Force spokesman Cllr Peter Edgar, leading the campaign to keep Gosport's Royal Hospital Haslar open, accused health bosses of breaking a promise to local people.

He said: "We have been through a very painful consultation exercise, after which the views of 80 per cent of people were ignored.

"People are going to be even more disillusioned now. I think the whole issue of healthcare in southern Hampshire needs to be looked at again."