PLANS to merge two Hampshire hospital trusts have today been officially announced.

Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust (WEHCT), which runs the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and the Andover War Memorial Hospital, is teaming up with Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust (BNHFT).

The planned merger will form a new trust for north and mid-Hampshire serving a population of 540,000 and WEHCT will disappear as a small, independent trust.

The proposed merger has been prompted by Government plans for all hospitals to become foundation trusts by 2013. Managers at WEHCT say they can't achieve this on their own.

They have been talking to neighbouring trusts about a possible partnership and Basingstoke is the preferred partner.

In a joint statement Mary Edwards, chief executive of BNHFT, said: “This partnership brings together two trusts with great track records in patient care. The similarities between our services, the way we work and our core values will, I believe vastly outweigh our differences.”

Dr Chris Gordon, chief executive of WEHCT, said: “As a doctor, I am pleased to say that this proposal has the strong support of clinicians at both trusts. This is absolutely fundamental in the forming of a new, integrated organisation because it will ensure the needs of our patients remain paramount.”

The merger has the backing of public sector Unison as bringing financial stability to WEHCT which has a historic £1.9m debt. The Winchester trust is only rated “fair” for financial management although “good” for clinical services.

Basingstoke hospital trust has been a foundation trust since 2006 and is rated “excellent” for financial management.