MALMESBURY Hospital League of Friends has accused health chiefs of ignorance after the trust decided to move important services away from the community.

The Friends say proposals which will move the maternity unit and X-ray services to Chippenham, will lead to an increase in trauma and cost for Malmesbury patients.

They have now set up a sub-committee to compile bus timetables and mileage costs for a car, to prove to the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust how difficult and costly it will be for people to get access to local health services.

Friends chairman Robin Clark said: "Why, when we are all paying more taxes and when vast sums are being poured into the NHS, should our cottage hospital have its services reduced just because other towns do not have what we have, and for which we worked so hard?"

A new flagship hospital is to be built on the site of the existing building at Burton Hill.

It will have a GP surgery and a care home, but many services now provided in Malmesbury look likely to be cut.

It is expected the maternity unit will be closed and women will have to travel to Chippenham to deliver.

The primary care trust has said it is trying to provide a more efficient and equitable service across its whole area but the Friends believe Malmesbury is different to other towns.

Mr Clark said Corsham and Calne are close to Chippenham with many patients actually going to see their GP there. He said: "I don't think the trust understands the huge difficulties this equalising or dumbing-down of service will cause the patients in the Malmesbury area.

"We have a catchment area of about 20,000 people and we do not understand why they should have to travel to Devizes, Chippenham, Swindon or Bath, particularly when the Government is advocating keeping services local."

Mr Clark said the Friends had donated thousands of pounds to buy equipment for specialists' clinics at the hospital to spare patients the trauma of travel.