FEARS were raised by health bosses that anticipated savings would not materialise just six weeks after the decision was made to close Devizes and Malmesbury maternity units .

The Gazette has obtained information from internal e-mails and reports released by the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust under the Freedom of Information Act.

The decision to close both units was made on July 27 last year and Phil Day, director of strategic service change, told the board the closures of both units would result in £318,000 being saved.

Of this figure £108,391 would be saved on staffing costs while the remaining £209,851 would be from premises, facilities, payroll and personnel and other indirect costs.

Both units were due to close on November 1 and mothers would have had to go to Trowbridge and Chippenham maternity units.

On August 30 Linda Walmsley, who was involved in reviewing maternity services for West Wiltshire PCT, said in a report: "Taking the WWPCT savings of £160,393 (staff) plus site savings of £20,900 (facilities), savings amount to £181,293.

"Clarity is needed about where the remainder of £136,707 savings were derived from as presented to the Kennet and North Wiltshire board."

On September 9 Ms Walmsley received an email from Dennis Bridges, head of facilities at Kennet and North Wiltshire PCT, which said: "I have looked at the savings charts and I am very concerned about the amount identified for Malmesbury and Devizes, bearing in mind these are part buildings and cannot be totally isolated in respect of energy, rates, maintenance, fire testing etc.

"A few savings I could see for Malmesbury would include clinical waste percentage, cleaning of the area, food provision to the area and this is similar to Devizes.

"If these areas are re-used for office accommodation then you would need to again put back these sort of costs.

"If we are expecting an increase in production at both Chippenham and Trowbridge there will be a requirement to increase the catering budget at these two facilities based on your estimates of throughput for maternity. Like you I am very concerned about the financial issues and to be careful that we don't cripple ourselves for the future."

The following day Ms Walmsley forwarded Mr Bridge's email to Hilary Fairfield, at that time acting joint chief executive of both PCTs, and wrote: "This reinforces the concerns I raised recently about the savings expected, bringing the real direct facilities savings to more like £20k."

Mr Day said in the maternity public consultation document that direct facilities savings at both units would be £97,021.

Ms Walmsley continues in her e-mail to Hilary Fairfield: "On the savings summary you sent me I noticed that there did not seem to have been an allowance made for costs of maternity day services continuing at Malmesbury and Devizes or for the increased throughput at Trowbridge and Chippenham.

"This coupled with no real change in overheads means to make any savings we must make best use of existing premises and move other services, but this may be problematic with no capital identified for building alterations. I am concerned about the level of risk this poses for the PCTs and wonder how you would like to proceed?"

Throughout the public consultation campaigners questioned the validity of the trust's costs and proposed savings.

Maternity unit campaigner David Kinnaird, of Urchfont, requested the documentation from the trust under the Freedom of Information Act that came into force in January.

His wife, Lisa, had ante natal and post natal care at the Devizes unit after giving birth to their second child, Emily, in February 2004, at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

Mr Kinnaird, 39, an information management consultant, said: "Quite clearly the board didn't have the basic information about the costs and savings. These documents show that the trust was not able to justify the savings it said would result in closing the maternity units and it was able to go ahead and make a decision with no firm idea on savings."

Mr Day, Mrs Fairfield and Ms Walmsley no longer work for the Primary Care Trusts, but Ms Walmsley is still doing consultancy work.

Both maternity units are open as normal as the decision to close them was put on hold by new trust chief executive Carol Clarke in November 2004 while a year long review of all health services provided and commissioned by Kennet and North Wiltshire and West Wiltshire Primary Care Trusts takes place.

This decision resulted in the referral of the decision to close both units to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel from Wiltshire County Council's health overview and scrutiny committee being cancelled.