After marches, protests and even a visit to Downing Street, campaigners in Devizes have finally been able to celebrate the news of a new care centre.
The town has lost out on a number of health care options - such as the closure of Devizes’s maternity unit and minor injuries unit - over the last three decades.
A small army of locals, including councillors, local GPs, town mayors and MPs, have made sure to voice the need for more care services in the region in that time.
They are, ultimately, behind the now welcome news that building work has started on land near Green Lane.
Conversations around a potential care centre began in the eighties, and by the mid-nineties land had been earmarked for the site.
The announcement came in response to work from Devizes Action to Save our Hospital (DASH) who had worked to find answers to a promised new hospital.
Years passed, and the fight for better facilities lumbered on into the noughties.
DASH 2 was formed in 2003, after a public meeting held by the Devizes Guardians at the Corn Exchange. A campaign was launched to save the town’s maternity unit, with campaigners even making a visit to Downing Street.
Regulars at the meetings, recalled in notes by Cllr Judy Rose, included Paula and Charles Winchcombe, Margaret and Ray Taylor, Judy Rose, Jane Burton, Dave Churchill, John Leighton, Tony Duck, Peter Evans, Jo Howes, Dr James Flood, Catherine Brown, Pat Rugg, Chris Carver, Don Jones and Tony Goldsmith.
“DASH 2 continued the fight,” said Cllr Rose.
“It became quite clear that services were being removed. We were losing the maternity unit and minor injuries unit, and the town stood up for itself.”
While the campaign to save the maternity unit was ultimately unsuccessful, despite public support, campaigners had still made a strong case for better care services in Devizes. The following years only emphasised the need, as MP Claire Perry worked with campaigners to “finally” get permission for a development at Green Lane.
Paula Winchombe was a Kennet and District councillor when she began to get involved.
“We didn’t save the maternity unit, but we put pressure on and highlighted that care needed to be shared out across the region,” she said.
“There were some key turning points, but we also faced recessions and financial black holes in the nineties.
“But I did always hope that there would be something to show for it. The ground is being dug as we speak, that to me speaks volumes.”
Some have not lived to see the care centre come to fruition, including the likes of Paula’s husband Charles, campaigners Ian and Barbara Glendinning, Pat Rugg, Tony Duck and Ray Taylor.
It is hoped the new care centre can offer state-of-the-art care and treatment and be a reflection of their, and others, hard work.
The new centre will be one of the county’s first integrated care centres, and will offer a home to a number of different health and care providers, all of whom will provide a variety of services to patients under the same roof.
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