CAMPAIGNERS have hit out at the delay in plans to replace Devizes Hospital.

The proposals, which were announced in February, are for a multi-million pound health campus to replace Devizes Hospital and bring together staff from health and Social Services.

An outline bid for money under the Private Finance Initiative was due to be submitted this year, along with a public meeting for people in Devizes, but neither has happened.

Officials have not been able agree on funding for the development and Hilary Fairfield, a senior manager who was working on it, has left to take up a job elsewhere.

As a result of Mrs Fairfield's departure and the work which is going on to set up the new North Wiltshire and Kennet Primary Care Group Trust in April there are fears the project will not be worked on until after April.

The Primary Care Trust replaces the North Wiltshire and Devizes Primary Care Group and the Wiltshire and Swindon Health Care NHS Trust, which runs Devizes Hospital.

Barbara Smith, who is leading the creation of the Primary Care Trust, said a bid had been made for money under a new Government finance scheme for the project along with other local schemes, such as Savernake Hospital, in Marlborough.

Mrs Smith told local councillors at a meeting in Devizes last week: "Devizes Hospital is still on the agenda. It has not been forgotten about but I think we need someone to drive it forward like the Savernake Hospital project."

Following the meeting Mrs Smith told the Gazette that the delay was disappointing.

She said: "It is not good for the people of Devizes who do want the project to go ahead.

"There is a revenue gap in running the new facility and we are close to resolving it. We can only go ahead if it doesn't cost us any more than the service currently does.

"With Hilary Fairfield going we haven't done an awful lot of work on it.

"The managers are pretty stretched at the moment while the Primary Care Trust is being set up."

Mrs Smith said she thought it was unlikely that a public meeting would be organised before April.

Town, district and county councillor Margaret Taylor said she understood the explanation for the delay but said she would be contacting Wiltshire Health Authority to air her concerns.

She said: "It is very disappointing. I just hope that Devizes Hospital is not going to be let down yet again.

"Other areas, such as Savernake Hospital, in Marlborough, seem to have got their priorities up and running and Devizes Hospital has been put on the back burner.

"I will be appealing to the health authority to urge them that Devizes Hospital should be treated as a priority."

Ian Glendinning, the chairman of Devizes Hospital League of Friends, said: "The delay is another example of the administrators having to spend so much time on changing their own organisations that the actual running of the hospital seems to take second place.

"I find it very frustrating and I am very worried that so much attention is being paid to the development at Savernake Hospital in Marlborough that Devizes is going to have to take second place to it."