NHS LAND that was being lined up for a proposed private hospital in Littlemore looks like being sold to ease the financial pressure on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

The Department of Health handed over three valuable sites to the specialist hospital, after hearing that consultants wanted to create a major private facility in Armstrong Road.

But a big question mark hangs over the £30m private hospital proposal near the former Littlemore Hospital, with the NOC saying it is ready to consider other options for the vacant land.

A group of orthopaedic consultants that runs a private business - the Oxford Clinic for Specialist Surgery - out of the NOC has been pressing for the creation of a private health facility with up to 40-beds and four operating theatres.

But after a year of talks, the chief executive of the NOC said that she had still not received any firm proposal for a new private hospital. Jan Fowler said: "We will consider all options for the disposal of the land that will provide the best return for the local NHS."

Consultant Gavin Bowden, one of the senior figures behind the OCSS plan, said he still had not given up hope of a major new private unit at Littlemore.

Money raised from the sale could provide an important boost to the NOC trust, amid fears that it is no longer viable as an independent trust.