THE FUTURE of Northwood and Pinner hospital has been decided after final plans were revealed.

A public consultation centred around the empty shell infrastructure of the hospital building, which is costing Hillingdon Primary Care trust (PCT) around £283,000 to maintain, after the realisation that it had reached the end of its life.

All patient services have already been transferred out of the hospital to more appropriate settings with modern care facilities.

The review included three open meetings involving discussion groups lead by executive directors and formal presentations, some tours of the building and talks of directly sending out over 50,500 consultation documents to local residents.

Donald Edwards, a member of Community Voice, who campaign for good NHS services, said: "The consultation was the best I have ever seen. The people were actually listened to and there was plenty of opportunity for feedback."

It was decided that any future services should be focussed on health and community care and there will be a further review towards the end of the year on the types and models of care for the future location.