MAYOR Richard Meek has spoken of his growing concern for the future of Chippenham Hospital, after health chiefs published controversial new plans this week.

Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, which is planning a major shake-up of health services to cope with its £10million debt, has suggested consolidating local services into just two hospitals, serving Bath Royal United and Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

The suggestion comes in a document following on from the Trust's consultation with NHS staff. For many it is a clear indication that Malmesbury and Devizes Hospitals could close, leaving Chippenham and Marlborough to bear the brunt of the fall-out.

Mr Meek said: "I am concerned Chippenham Hospital would not be able to cope.

It could have to take on almost the same amount of patients again."

Other suggestions in the report include the bunching together of services at specific hospitals.

Mr Meek said: "I agree it is better for people to receive a number of different services in one hospital, instead of travelling to different locations for tests, but there are thousands of patients who don't have cars."

"And voluntary hospital transport services like Link Transport are already overstretched.

"The logistics of transporting people in from Malmesbury and Devizes is huge and I don't think it has really been thought through properly."

The PCT findings also highlight the 'refocusing of services to support people at home for longer.'

But Mr Meek condemned the moves to provide more care for elderly and mentally ill patients in their homes as 'passing the buck'.

"Placing more emphasis on caring for older people at home through the loss of more beds on Cameron ward will just mean more families struggling to cope," he said.

"And patients would also suffer because they would no longer have the support mechanism of the hospital and specialists at hand.

"My mother-in-law is currently being treated at Green Lanes Hospital in Devizes and a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I spent an hour and half going through her case with a new doctor, because her previous doctor wasn't on duty.

"I worry about how many elderly people and also mentally ill people, who depend on the knowledge of their consultants, would suffer, if they were left to rely on a telephone helpline and care in the community."

Barbara Smith, the chief executive of the PCT, refuses to be drawn on the possible implications of the findings at this stage, saying that the recommendations will now be used to formulate proposals to be put forward to the Trust Board in two weeks.

She did say however, that radical changes must be made in local health care services.

"Our staff have told us, be radical Trust, go for it! and that is what we are going to have to do, but we believe this will result on our providing services to be better-suited to our patients," she said.

Also refusing to be drawn on the fate of Malmesbury Hospital, she did hint however, that the land could be earmarked for redevelopment:

"The Trust owns the land and the buildings and it has great potential, but there are many elements of the hospital which are currently underused," she said.

"By the same token, Malmesbury is also seriously lacking a much-needed care home for the elderly and this modernisation of local healthcare is all about providing what people need."

Mr Meek, meanwhile, urged the Mrs Smith and rest of the Trust to plan wisely before making sweeping changes to local health services.

"I wouldn't want to be in Barbara Smith's shoes," he said.

"The Trust, through no fault of its own, has inherited a huge debt, largely from Bath Royal United Hospital.

"But what I don't want to see, is the people of Chippenham, Malmesbury and Devizes suffering because of that debt."