CAMPAIGNERS fighting to keep health facilities in Devizes have called for the consultation period to be extended.

The consultation ends tomorrow and the Kennet and the North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust will make decisions on May 22, which could leave the town with nothing more than a health centre and nursing home.

The campaign group DASH2 (Devizes Action to Save Our Hospital), has written to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Health Secretary Alan Milburn asking them to order the trust to extend the consultation period.

Experts from the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care said the trust's consultation period was too short and was four weeks less than guidance issued by the Government.

Catherine Brown, the mayor of Devizes and chairman of DASH2, said: "We are asking for a stay of execution so there can be a longer time to consult. We believe the trust has rushed into it and we are concerned about why they are rushing."

Mrs Brown is still urging people to write letters to the trust calling for basic services such as a 24-hour minor injury unit, X-ray and maternity unit and the provision of beds to be provided at the new health facility at Green Lane.

The trust plans to sell off the existing Devizes Hospital site and use the money to build a new centre at Green Lane. Unison, the health union, has started a petition to save services at the hospital.

On Thursday May 8, members of DASH2 and hospital campaigners in Malmesbury, are due to visit a new hospital and care clinic in Ledbury, Herefordshire. The trust believes the same facility could be provided locally.