A BERKELEY resident and councillor has spoken out against a local hospital's closure suggesting it should be run as a charitable trust.

The suggestion was made by John Stanton, Stroud district councillor for Berkeley, in his response to the Gloucestershire NHS Trust public consultation.

In a letter addressed to the consultation co-ordinator Cllr Stanton said he does not believe closing Berkeley Hospital and moving a new health facility to Dursley would improve health provision in the area.

The councillor suggests Berkeley Hospital should become a charitable trust which sells services to the Cotswold and Vale Primary Care Trust.

In his letter Cllr Stanton expresses serious reservations about the consultation process and explains why he thinks moving the hospital to Dursley would not make access easier for the majority of the Berkeley Vale population.

He said: "Much of the population in the Berkeley Vale area lives close to the A38 corridor, which is the major access route. Settlements include Stone, Frampton, Slimbridge, Sharpness plus many rural villages. Access to Berkeley Hospital from the A38 is easy, whereas the proposed Littlecombe site is difficult."

Cllr Stanton also claims that the PCT have made no financial provision for running two units at the same time.

He said: "No allowance appears to have been made for double running costs during the period when services will be handed over to the new providers."

Jo Wynn, spokesman for the Cotswold and Vale PCT took said this week the people of Berkeley needed to remember that there was not intention to cut services just to relocate them.

She said: "We are not looking to close a facility we are looking to relocate. We are not looking at cutting services we are looking to expand them. We are not limiting or closing the number of beds.

"Although this is a change this is a really, really positive change. It will be a hospital that will meet people's health needs and cut people's travel which they currently do to Gloucester and Bristol.

"There will still be a health facility in Berkeley but not necessarily at the Berkeley site but possibly at GP surgeries."