DETAILS of services to be provided at cottage hospitals in Kennet and North Wiltshire in the future have finally been published.

The long-awaited report by the health trust still has to be approved but it now seems likely that both Devizes and Malmesbury will continue to have proper hospitals in one form or another.

This is a victory for the campaign led by the Gazette and Herald but of course there has had to be compromise along the way and not everyone is going to be happy with the result.

The health trust has to save £10 million and so was faced with difficult decisions. It now seems that Devizes will get a new hospital at Green Lane but the 24-hour minor injuries unit is set to be one of the casualties of the changes and much sooner than expected.

People needing late night casualty treatment will have to travel to Chippenham or to the bigger district general hospitals in Bath or Swindon.

This is a major blow for campaigners who fear it could cause added anxiety for parents with sick children and even lead to complications for those with asthma and other conditions that need instant treatment.

Thanks to the hard work of campaigners, once again backed by the Gazette, the decision on maternity units across the district has been postponed. A report will now be drawn up in June and a decision made in July. It is hoped the units in Devizes and Malmesbury could be saved if mums from other areas could be persuaded to use the service.

But it is vital that people keep on reminding the health trust how important they view the existing maternity units. It would be a huge shame if once all the publicity about the hospital changes has died down maternity closures were quietly announced.