KENNET and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust has given a reassurance to the public that letters they send in about maternity units will be made available to all board members.

It follows an omission by the trust to pass on or mention to the board a letter sent by Devizes MP Michael Ancram who is against the proposals to transfer birthing facilities and in-patient post natal care from Devizes to Trowbridge.

Mr Ancram was furious his letter, which he sent to trust chairman Tim Boucher was not mentioned at the board meeting of the trust on November 25 as he had specifically asked.

At a meeting on December 16 the board was told that procedures had been tightened.

Joint acting chief executive Stephen Golledge said: "If people, including MPs, request their letters to be copied to board members that is what we will do. As part of the public consultation on maternity a complete set of correspondence will be made available to the April board meeting when a decision is due to be made."

Public consultation on the proposals to merge Devizes Maternity Unit with Trowbridge's and Malmesbury Maternity Unit with Chippenham's is due to run from January 19 until April 19, with a final decision being made by the board at its meeting on April 27.

Non-executive director Ken Morrison said he was disappointed that the consultation document had not yet been produced.

Chris Carver, of Devizes Friends of the Earth, questioned the trust's ability to carry out the consultation in the timescale planned.

She said: "This timetable is extremely unrealistic. It's being driven to meet your financial arrangements."

Mr Golledge said if the consultation did not start on time it would have to run for three months as a legal requirement, meaning the decision would be put back.

Also planned to run from January 19 until April 19 is a public consultation on proposals to cut some consultant outpatient clinics at Devizes and Malmesbury hospitals.

Mr Boucher was concerned at the trust's ability to cope with a large number of letters and e-mails from the public.

He said: "During our strategic plan public consultation there was a huge volume of work. We are a very small organisation and we are not staffed up to handle big surges in communication.

"If we are going to have a big response we don't want to be caught out by the sheer volume of interest."

Phil Day, the trust's director of community services, said administrative support had been set up to ensure all comments sent in by the public are logged.

He said public meetings would be held and, in response to criticism from mothers, they would be morning rather than evening.

The Gazette urges pregnant women to continue to book at Devizes and Malmesbury maternity units to prove to the trust that both are viable. Contact Devizes on (01380) 720303 and Malmesbury on (01666) 822657. Letters addressed to The Board of Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust can be sent care of Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, 14 Market Place, Devizes, SN10 1HT and we will forward them on.