Post readers want the new name for Southmead Hospital to be...

THOUSANDS of people have had their say on the future name of the new hospital at Southmead.

It was decided that with the opening of the £430-million hospital next year, bringing services from Frenchay and Southmead together under one roof for the first time, people should be able to have their say on the name for the state-of-the-art building.

Employees at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), which runs the hospital were asked to suggest names.

Once more than 400 suggestions had been whittled down to a shortlist of six people were given the chance to vote for their favourites.

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About 3,500 people had their say on the names that were suggested: Bristol Brunel, Elizabeth Blackwell, Prince William or keeping variations of Southmead Hospital, either by not changing, or becoming known as Bristol Southmead or New Southmead Hospital.

The health trust will now consider the views of the public in deciding on a name for the hospital.

Of about 350 votes cast through The Post the most popular name was Southmead Hospital, then Bristol Southmead, New Southmead, Bristol Brunel, then Prince William with naming the hospital after the first woman on the UK medical register, Bristol-born Elizabeth Blackwell.

Detail of votes made through the hospital are not being revealed.

The trust board will consider the reaction to the shortlist of names before making a decision for an announcement at the end of May – exactly a year before the new hospital opens.

Deputy director of projects at NBT, Tricia Down, said: "It has been really great that people across the city and South Gloucestershire have had an interest in wanting to vote for one of the names. I think it shows that people have got an interest in their healthcare facilities."