PAINTERS have delivered a new look at Malmesbury Hospital's maternity ward as part of a £15,000 improvement programme.

The ward, side wards and midwives offices were all badly in need of refurbishment, but to minimise disruption the work was all done at once.

The ward was shut down for a week while a team of painters and decorators laboured to get the job done on time.

In addition to a much-needed lick of blue paint, the unit has also been re-carpeted.

Meanwhile expectant mums had to use maternity services at Bath, Chippenham and Swindon, with two Malmesbury babies being born in Chippenham as a result of the week-long closure.

"The unit is looking great now and it's a much more pleasant working environment for the midwives," said maternity services manager Vicky Tinsley. "It is bright and homely."

The unit, which employs ten midwives, delivers around 120 babies each year with mums coming from Malmesbury and across the border in Gloucestershire.

The improvements have been welcomed by Malmesbury Hospital League of Friends. It paid for the unit's birthing pool, which has proved a big draw for the hospital, bringing expectant mothers in from across the area.

The league's chairman, Robin Clark, said that the importance of small units like Malmesbury could not be overestimated and that he took the expenditure as a sign of the newly-formed West Wiltshire Primary Care Trust's commitment to the hospital.

There had been fears that the unit might be under threat from a review of maternity services.

"The cost per birth at Malmesbury is above the national average, but this doesn't take into account quality of life," said Mr Clark.

He said that without the unit, some people would have to travel as far as Bath, a difficult journey on public transport and a long haul for visitors.

West Wiltshire Primary Care Trust took over the area's maternity services in April. Its chief executive Donna Stiles said: "We were delighted about the opportunity to integrate maternity services into the organisation with a view to building upon the very strong local tradition of community based services."