THE chief executive of Salisbury District Hospital (SDH) has said there are no plans to close the hospital.

The statement by Peter Hill was issued in response to a comment made by a GP during a city council meeting earlier this month.

Speaking about plans for a super surgery, St Ann Street Surgery GP Nick Stanger mentioned that there had been discussions over the possible closure of SDH, saying: “God forbid the hospital shuts – that has been talked about.”

His remarks prompted councillors to accuse him of scaremongering and trying to frighten them into making a decision.

Family doctors want to merge three of the four GP practices in Salisbury city centre and build a new, out-of-town “super-surgery” on a designated wildlife site.

More than 25,000 patients stand to be affected by plans to combine St Ann Street, Endless Street and Three Swans surgeries into a new three-storey medical centre with almost 250 parking spaces on a greenfield site in Harnham.

The plans for land near Lime Kiln Way were presented to Salisbury city councillors at a meeting on September 5, attended by around 40 members of the public.

Patients have not yet been consulted on the plans, which will include GP clinics, cancer treatment, pharmacy, physio, and chiropractor services.

Dr Stanger said his practice and Endless Street Surgery were “no longer fit for purpose” adding that young doctors wanted modern practices and that the government was piling more work on GPs, rather than hospitals.

Dr Stanger was approached for comment but had not responded by the time the Journal went to press yesterday.