A SEVERELY disabled former RAF man has called for a government re-think over the future of a Gosport hospital, following a pledge from the Prime Minister.

Don Bennett, 72, of Pettycot Crescent, Bridgemary, is furious that the Royal Hospital Haslar could close when Tony Blair said people should be entitled to the medical service they wanted.

Mr Bennett, a retired electrical fitter, declared: "Haslar has saved my life five times. If it closes, I certainly won't be getting the medical services I want. This is totally against what the Prime Minister said at his party conference.

"My wife and I certainly won't be able to get to Portsmouth and there must be thousands of people like us in the area.

"It is crazy to close Haslar. They were so good to me on a number of occasions. I was nearly a goner. They helped get me back on my feet. The staff were absolutely marvellous.

The military hospital is due to close, with a replacement unit being built at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.

Mr Bennett's wife, Pat, who also has cause to thank Haslar staff, said: "It is the cream of hospitals. I had first class treatment when I was taken in with a suspected heart attack."

She added: "They talk about Haslar having to go because they are short of funds, but there is plenty of surplus Army land in Gosport which could be sold. It has been rotting for years."

But armed forces minister John Spellar has sparked fresh fears. Haslar campaigners say Mr Spellar intimated that other departments in the hospital could close before the expansion at QA is complete.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.