CHIPPENHAM'S community hospital is likely to be turned into one of two 'mini' general hospitals for North Wiltshire.

The ambitious plans for the hospital were this week labelled "good news" by Barbara Smith, the chief executive of the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, as she unveiled its new blueprint for the future.

The proposals could see both Chippenham and Marlborough community hospitals expand to deal with hundreds more patients, and even house new buildings.

"This is great news, exciting news," said Mrs Smith.

"Our public consultation has identified the need to provide patients with better services, in fewer locations and that is what Chippenham Hospital could offer us."

Under the new proposals, which could be implemented by 2005, existing in-patient and out-patient units at Malmesbury and Devizes hospitals would be replaced by new GP centres, a Malmesbury nursing home and more care for the elderly in their own homes.

While patients from those hospitals needing services such as casualty, a specialist out-patient clinic, X-ray and ultrasound would travel instead to Chippenham Hospital for their treatment.

To facilitate its new roles, Chippenham Hospital would change radically, upgrading its minor injury unit to a Primary Care Emergency Centre (PCEC), providing more intensive outpatient clinics, developing further specialist in-patient beds for orthopaedics and neurology and providing specialist care for the terminally ill, through links with the Dorothy House Hospice.

Despite the potentially-huge new influx of patients from surrounding areas such as Devizes, Malmesbury, Corsham and Calne, Mrs Smith believes the new improved Chippenham Hospital would be able to cope.

"In-patient facilities as they stand mean there is a lot of pressure on Chippenham Hospital, with lots of people waiting to go into the next stage of care," she explained.

"But by providing increased care at home and in care homes, we will free-up more beds for people needing rehabilitation."

Mrs Smith added: "The new centre could also enable elderly patients who are brought in and need a referral, to be looked after at home overnight courtesy of a new overnight nursing service, instead of being admitted to hospital.

"Some of the proposals are about developing more services to support people in the community and to support them at home for as long as is appropriate.

"And this therefore avoids hospital admission where that is not necessary."

Mrs Smith said: "In the case of out-patients, many are currently seen in small clusters of units throughout the area and many patients find themselves having to go one to one place for tests and other places for their treatment.

"But with the proper implementation, Chippenham Hospital could provide zoned clinics and other treatment facilities which would enable much quicker and easier, centralised treatment."

Perhaps the most ambitious part of the proposals, the new Primary Care Emergency Centre would be equipped with more staff, including emergency nurse practitioners, who would be able to deal with more patients and cut the number of referrals to Bath's Royal United and Swindon's Great Western Hospitals.

In its proposals for the future of local healthcare, the primary care trust is seeking to update services, while adhering to the constraints of a £10 million budget deficit, inherited from Bath Royal United Hospital Trust.

The proposals also include changes for the smaller towns such as Calne and Corsham.