WHILE it's clear South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust has been needled by the criticism it has taken over its conduct of the public consultation on a new Malvern hospital, what was also clear from this week's public meetings is that it has learnt from that criticism.

While trust chairman David Barlow took the opportunity to hit back at the critics, and not least the Malvern Gazette, it is very doubtful the public meetings this week would have been as constructive as they turned out to be if the trust had not been persuaded to recognise and respond to the level of public interest in the new hospital.

What the public meetings this week demonstrated above all else is how badly the people of Malvern want and need this new hospital.

It's also clear the trust has been listening and not least on the provision of a minor injuries unit (MIU).

At the initial public meetings chief executive Mike Ridley said an MIU was too expensive to be viable, but this week the trust said the cost would be £150,000 a year and it would treat a minimum of nine people a day.

There was still doubt about whether this money could be found, but considering the pressure on Worcester, it sounds as if it would be money well spent.

We even had an artist's impression of how the new hospital might look and an opening date, 2008. The only concern on the horizon is the strong suggestion that a part of the Seaford Court site will have to be sold. We agree with those who said this week that no part of the site should be sold until the new hospital has been built, not least to ensure there is sufficient car parking.