CORSHAM GP Dr Simon Burrell came under attack from mums and midwives when he suggested that midwife-led maternity units in Devizes and Malmesbury relied on GPs to help if there was an emergency.

Dr Burrell spoke at a meeting of the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust on Tuesday.

Dr Burrell, a member of the trust board, said one of the reasons for recommending closing Malmesbury and Devizes maternity units was that there would be fewer GPs on duty out of hours next year when the new GP contract comes into force.

He said: "In maternity, things can suddenly and unpredictably go wrong and we have an obligation to provide care in those circumstances.

"The midwives are absolutely excellent at delivering babies and dealing with issues that arise but I have not found a midwife who has more than one pair of hands and GPs provide additional health care."

Following this comment there were shouts of 'that's rubbish' from maternity unit staff who were among the 45-strong audience.

After the meeting Juliana Beardsmore, of Malmesbury National Childbirth Trust, said: "Simon Burrell misled the board. I have checked with Malmesbury midwives who say they cannot remember the last time they called in a GP to help."

The trust agreed that the birthing and post natal inpatient facilities at Malmesbury should move to Chippenham Maternity Unit. A final decision will be made in April following three months' consultation.

The trust also wants to transfer birthing and post natal inpatient facilities from Devizes Maternity Unit to Trowbridge but say women from Devizes should be given the option of going to Chippenham instead.

Mrs Beardsmore is concerned at Chippenham's ability to cope with extra mothers from the Malmesbury and Devizes areas. She said: "There will be some problems at Chippenham as the trust has forecast that they will be over capacity on some days. Women are going to end up with having shorter stays in hospitals.