MATERNITY services in west Wiltshire are under the spotlight in the latest healthcare review aimed at relieving financial pressure on the district's NHS.

Healthworkers, mothers, and childcare representatives met in Trowbridge on Wednesday to give their views on the standard of maternity services, as part of the review covering Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

Ann Nash, who is leading the review, said: "To a certain extent the review is about money because we don't have enough, and we're prepared for the fact that it looks like we have got too many maternity re-sources for the area, so we have to try and find out what the true cost is of running those services."

Miss Nash will present a report to West Wiltshire Primary Care Trust at the end of September, outlining a way forward to save mon-ey.

The review will also ensure that safety of mothers and babies stays top of the agenda.

Proposals could include different tiers of maternity services, such as fewer beds in Trowbridge, and more community midwives supervising home births.

At the meeting, Miss Nash said she was surprised by the number of people who agreed too much choice could be a bad thing, and that changing the way maternity services are provided could give mothers a better service.

Miss Nash also said many of the staff in maternity services felt they had been reviewed too often, and just wanted answers about what would happen in the future.

She said: "There have been many reviews of health services but we've never actually got to the stage of making decisions based on what the data collected has proved.

"Staff are sick to the back teeth of the reviewing pro-cess and just want people to make some decisions."

Over the next two months she will try and come up with suggestions to present to the PCT board.

Miss Nash said: "In our final report we will give the board options, but we'll warn what the implications of those are. It's then up to the board to decide the best way forward."

Nick Westbrook, chief officer of health watchdog, the Bath and District Comm-unity Health Council, welcomed the review.

He said: "It's long overdue, and that's proved by the fact that we are in debt.

"I hope mothers will actually be asked whether they want to give birth at home, and how to make the most of the beds we have."

Mr Westbrook called for a change in attitude of health professionals and patients if the review was going to work, but he said the people who actually used maternity services were the people who should be involved.