THE chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation is asking local residents to help decide its priorities for the coming year.

Alex Whitfield wants to hear from local people before setting the priorities, which are split into four areas - care for patients, empowered people, living within money and innovating for the future.

The trust, which runs the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, has already announced a number of targets for before the end of 2019.

These include reducing the number of patients spending more than seven days in hospital, increasing the number of volunteers and reducing nursing agency costs.

Ms Whitfield said: “Having a clear, concise list of priorities will help us to focus our efforts on the things that are most important to achieve over the course of the year - and by taking part in the survey, you can have your say on what these are.

“All of the things that have made the shortlist have done so because they are important to us and we will continue to work towards them, whether or not they are included in the final list of priorities.

“I’m looking forward to finding out which of them matter most to our patients and their families, our staff and the population we serve.”

Residents can have their say by visiting www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HHFTpriorities and taking part in a short online survey.