HEALTH bosses have proposed closing Malmesbury Maternity Unit. As the Gazette revealed weeks ago health chiefs are proposing that Malmesbury closes because they say it is too expensive to run.

There was a suggestion that Malmesbury would be left with a day- time ante-natal clinic but this is not now in the proposals put forward by the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.

Instead, this is proposed to be in Chippenham.

The trust is also proposing to close Devizes Maternity Unit for births and for post natal-support and transfer women to Trowbridge, leaving just an ante natal facility in Devizes.

The trust released a report yesterday, which will be discussed at a board meeting on Tuesday.

Despite a huge public outcry in Devizes and Malmesbury, which included petitions signed by more than 10,000 people who were against closing both units, the trust says both units should close because they are too expensive to run.

Both units have five beds and the trust's director of community services, Phil Day and Dr Simon Burrell, a member of the trust board, say in the report that births and post-natal support should be transferred from Devizes to Trowbridge Maternity Unit and from Malmesbury to Chippenham Maternity Unit.

Mr Day said: "Clinical quality is not in question though, from an operational perspective small units like Malmesbury and Devizes have less chance to improve occupancy and efficiency. Last year the average bed occupancy in Malmesbury and Devizes was 35 per cent. The birth rate, projected to 2011, is not expected to rise significantly."

Mr Day says in his report: "The Professional Executive Committee sub- group feel Malmesbury is no longer viable as a birthing and post-natal in-patient unit and this service should transfer to Chippenham.

"Trowbridge is more likely to emerge as the preferred single unit rather than Devizes, since it is the largest community unit, with 400 deliveries a month.

"If Devizes was to be the single site, Trowbridge women might prefer to deliver in Bath, with the real risk of compromising capacity in the acute unit, rather than travel to Devizes.

"Under the proposal women from the Devizes area should be given the option of delivery in Chippenham or Trowbridge."

Mr Day and Dr Burrell propose that day-time pregnancy assessment and post-natal support services be set up in Devizes and Chippenham.

The report says the details of public consultation needs to be agreed with the county council's overview and scrutiny committee but is likely to run from January to March 2004 with any changes coming into force in April 2004.

Mum Claire Jordan, a former chair of the Malmesbury Branch of the National Childbirth Trust, said: "It's a huge blow. I had my second child there few weeks ago. It was a fantastic experience and in last week I think there had been five births there.

"It would be awful if a woman wasn't able to get to Bath or Chippenham in time and the baby ended up being born halfway there. I have had a couple of quick births and would have been heavily in labour by the time I got to either of those units."

County councillor John Thomson said: "I am not surprised, nevertheless it is heartbreaking. I do not understand it. It is a mistake. There seems to be so many conflicting objectives but it is all about saving money and the debt the PCT is in."