THE premature closure of Pershore Hospital and the loss of three wards at Evesham Community Hospital are among a list of proposals put forward by South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust as it struggles to slash its budget by £15.5 million over the next year.

School nurse services, home visits to the elderly and housebound by district nurses and physiotherapists and sexual health clinics are also likely to be depleted in an attempt to balance the budget.

The community vasectomy service could disappear and to help meet the bill for GP out-of-hours services, doctors will in future be available at fewer centres to see patients, meaning additional travel for many.

A proposal to close the Macmillan palliative care unit at Evesham was tempered with the announcement that beds have been commissioned at St Richard's Hospice.

However, hospital insiders pointed out this week that the PCT had commissioned only three beds rather than the five which are currently in use in Evesham.

The temporary closure of Bredon Ward could have been required in any case to allow essential remedial work to be carried out.

But a leading campaigner in the fight to save Evesham Hospital wards from closure last year, former Mayor Cllr Frances Smith, said this week she doubted whether the 12 proposals tabled by the PCT for discussion cost anything like the amount of cash they were being asked to save.

"Obviously I am very concerned about these proposals and we shall continue to fight to keep all the services at Evesham Hospital in Evesham," she said.

"But, for the life of me, I can't see how these proposals are going to save anything like the amount of money they need to save."

Paul Bates, acting chief executive of the PCT, said: "These ideas are still 'work in progress' but we want to discuss them at the earliest stage with key stakeholders, so that we can take their thoughts into account as we try to achieve the very difficult task of living within our budget.

"That way we can help to minimise the negative effects and explore alternative ideas.

"We are not yet at the formal public consultation stage but this is an important chance for early discussion.

"The Primary Care Trust is holding meetings and workshops with patients and their representatives and the list of ideas is being discussed also with the county council, district councils, PPI Forum, MPs, GPs and staff."

Mr Bates said that implementing the suggestions would involve not filling vacancies and not renewing temporary job contracts.

"At the moment the Primary Care Trust does not envisage compulsory redundancies, although it cannot rule them out completely at this stage."