MALVERN could get its new hospital within four years with a promise that local needs will decide what services it then provides.

Project team member Dr David Payler, also chairman of Malvern Primary Care Group, assured residents they would have a full role in deciding what goes into the new facility.

He addressed Malvern Comm-unity Hospital's League of Friends annual meeting last Thursday night.

Some 70 people crammed into the Lyttelton Rooms after being invited to have their say on what they would like to see adopted.

"The NHS plan tells us we must listen to you people - we can't go on producing medical services which don't meet the needs of the population," said Dr Payler.

"We have to say 'yes, this is what the public is saying it wants'."

Dr Payler bemoaned the history behind current favoured site, Seaford Court, which became the focus of the new hospital project 20 years ago but has been handicapped by lack of finance.

A strategic business case based on all Malvern's community services being put on one site was, however, approved 12 months ago and a project board and team set up to drive the current outline business case.

The team has addressed finance and partnership issues and also come up with eight 'option priorities'. They are: achieving national targets and local priorities, local provision accessibility, enhancing the quality of care provided, acceptability to the local community, enhanced partnership working, aiding multidisciplinary working, meeting health and social need and economies of scale.

The team is also looking at potential partners, such as social services, GP surgeries, the Ambul-ance Trust, complementary services like chemists and opticians, voluntary groups like CAB and Malvern Hills District Council.

He even suggested the currently 'homeless' Malvern Town Football Club could play on shared sports facilities, with all the partners accommodated on one site.

The Malvern Community Hospital project team was due to meet to finalise the outline business plan yesterday afternoon (Thursday). Dr Payler hopes that will be approved by the new primary care trust's board in May.

A full case could take a year and he predicts, if built on Seaford Court, a new hospital could be up in a further three years.