SAVE Haslar campaigners have pledged to take their fight to overturn a decision to close the historic Hampshire hospital to the top.

Haslar Task Force chairman Peter Viggers MP is leading the fight for the secretary of state for health Dr John Reid to have his say on the doomed hospital in his Gosport constituency.

Hampshire's health scrutiny committee has already threatened to refer the decision to government if they are not satisfied every possible option has been explored to make use of the much-loved facility.

They meet again later this month to make a final decision on whether to refer the issue to Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust(PCT).

If the committee goes ahead, Dr Reid could call for an investigation by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.

Mr Viggers believes they could scrap the plans to rebuild Queen Alexandra (QA) Hospital in Cosham and close Haslar and make more use of existing facilities because of a similar decision made over health facilities in East Kent.

He said: "There are many unanswered questions. Can Queen Alexandra be built on cost and what is that cost? If built, will it be able to cope with demand if we are to lose the Haslar facilities?

"This is not the end of the story. There is a process which allows the PCT decision to be

challenged and this is now in hand.

"In East Kent, the panel scrapped the plant and put forward a different proposal which used existing facilities. That is what might happen here.

"In any event the level of local dissatisfaction with the Primary Care Trust's plans is so great that an external and objective re-appraisal must be the right route to follow."

Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust members believe public consultation has shown building community hospitals as the hub of services in both towns is the best way forward for future health services in Fareham and Gosport.

They say retaining hospital services on part of the Haslar site would be almost twice

as costly and services would suffer.

A Portsmouth Hospitals Trust spokeswoman said it has already been proven that having two main hospitals such as Queen Alexandra and Haslar in such close proximity to each other is not viable.

Health bosses plan to close the Royal Hospital Haslar in the summer of 2008 when the QA rebuild is completed and the MoD leaves the site.