HEALTH issues have once again hit the headlines this week with mixed fortunes for towns in Kennet and North Wiltshire.

Options revealed this week for changes to services seem to show that Devizes and Malmesbury are about to lose their highly regarded community hospitals.

Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust is expected to close two of the four community hospitals under its control.

It wants to have just one hospital serving as a satellite to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and one to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

It appears that Chippenham will be the chosen hospital to the north of the county and Savernake at Marlborough to the east.

This is likely to leave both Devizes and Malmesbury with glorified nursing homes and enlarged GP surgeries to cope with day to demand of their ever growing populations.

One of the casualties of the changes is likely to be the minor injuries and out of hours service.

This will mean that families with a sick child suffering from asthma or another life threatening illness will have to travel much further for treatment and the time lost could mean the difference between life and death in extreme situations.

For Devizes it is a case of so near and yet so far. Plans were being drawn up for a brand new hospital at Green Lane and staff had started to become excited about the prospect of working in bright modern conditions.

Managers had started to win over the nurses and other staff and persuaded them that this sort of change was the best for them and their patients.

But just as the prospect of a new hospital was starting to become almost a reality it has been snatched away from them.

In Malmesbury too their is upset at the prospect of losing a building which is far more than just bricks and mortar.

The fight is not over yet.