A hugely successful businessman has said his offer to buy Epsom Hospital is still open "to make it the best hospital in the UK".

Sir Adrian White, 72, served as chairman of the then Epsom Healthcare NHS Trust from 1992 to 1999.

During this time, he guided the hospital to fund its own accident and emergency unit, maternity ward and later the Denbies wing and elective orthopaedic centre.

But his more radical offer - for his charity, The Denbies Hospital Trust, to buy the hospital’s buildings for £30m and invest a further £80m to create a NHS and private centre of excellence - was rejected.

Speaking to the Epsom Guardian this week after being knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours, the owner of the Denbies Wine Estate said he was still willing to drive a purchase of the Epsom Hospital by setting up a charity and raising the money.

He said he believed Epsom Hospital has had an "incredibly rough deal" by being situated near St Helier hospital - which he saw as a drain on Epsom.

Sir Adrian said: "The more effective Epsom became the more money was available to support the two loss-making hospitals either side of it: East Surrey and St Helier.

"That effectively reduced the amount of money Epsom required to operate and led to its downfall as two major hospitals either side needed propping up with vast funds so it was easier to merge Epsom with St Helier - to prop up St Helier and that’s still the case today.

"While I don’t support all hospitals being a service for all ills and for all people, because that’s inefficient, I feel Epsom has an incredibly rough deal and you could establish a charitable trust to purchase the Epsom Hospital site with a 99-year lease operating with the NHS, with all capital funding raised by the charitable trust so people own the hospital and they would then donate to it and support it."

From April: Secret plans to close Epsom and St Helier and build new "super hospital" overheard on train

From May: 'Traingate' - Hospital chief exec says "I don't think we misled anyone" over leak of super-site plans

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of Epsom and St Helier hospital trust, confirmed it was working with management consultants to look at options for the hospitals after 2020.

He was forced to reveal details of the "full estates review" after the infamous "Traingate" incident.

Employees from Deloitte were overheard discussing proposals for a potential 800-bed super hospital on the old Sutton Hospital site on a train.

Epsom’s MP Chris Grayling said he did not agree with Mr Elkeles conducting the review and said the Conservative government would not spend any money to build new hospitals in south west London.

But Sir Adrian said he could offer a solution.

"I quite understand why the Government isn’t looking to spend vast amounts of money for a new hospital," he said.

"My offer is still open for a charitable trust to take over Epsom Hospital and make it the best hospital in the UK.

"I sympathise with the new chief executive. He is caught between a rock and a hard place.

"But building a brand new hospital with the amount of money needed is difficult.

"No one wants to let go of their local hospital.

"The fault of the NHS over the last 25 years has been to allow every hospital to be all things to all men. There needs to be specialists."

Mr Grayling criticised Mr Elkeles in an email update sent out to constituents on Monday.

He said: "Most immediately I am due to meet the new chief executive of the Epsom and St Helier NHS trust in the wake of what he himself has called "Traingate", the revelation on a train that he had already taken on consultants to look at building a new hospital in Sutton.

"Despite this inexplicable decision, I do not believe there is any immediate threat to acute services at Epsom Hospital.

"But my initial impression that the new trust leadership had finally started to focus on turning Epsom into a healthcare campus with a broader mix of services on the site, including closer working with GP services, community services and mental health services, has certainly been dashed, and we will all need to be very vigilant.

"I have no doubt that some of the doctors in South West London who tried to get services moved to St George’s eighteen months ago will try again now the election is out of the way.

"However it is also clear that there is no money for major new hospital developments. So I am as confident as I can be that services at Epsom will be secure for the time being."

Speaking about his career and approach to business, Sir Adrian added: "In my life I look for the way around, to be creative and not to accept the status quo.

"It’s fun. Whereas money isn’t.

"I believe the lateral thinking businessmen have to use every day to keep in front would solve the problems.

"We need to bring back businessmen into the NHS."