THE PCT decision has been welcomed by Dr Neil Townshend, who has been representing GPs in the battle for Evesham Community Hospital.

"The fantastic response of the public to the campaign has had a significant impact at all levels of health service management and its importance in helping to turn around these decisions should not be underestimated," he said.

But he said two significant areas of serious concern remained. The first was the plan to remove out-of-hours doctors based at Evesham on weekday evenings and weekend nights, leaving the area covered only by a mobile doctor based at Malvern covering both areas.

"The plan is for the doctor to come over for one hour in the evening and one hour in the early hours," he explained. "I am not happy with the level of medical cover this provides for our area."

Dr Townshend said the second issue was the plan to remove GP medical cover for the Minor Injuries Unit at Evesham. The nurses provided an excellent service but it was further enhanced by the medical cover provided by local GPs.

The closure of the wards had been shelved while a review was undertaken to look at the way patients were managed and where they should be cared for and he said it was most important the review of care pathways for stroke patients and those requiring rehabilitation were driven by clinical issues and not cost.

"As most patients wish to be cared for locally in high quality services, Evesham, with its cost-effective delivery, has every reason to expect to continue to be playing a major role," Dr Townshend said.

"Orthopaedic services will continue at the hospital and GPs will continue to care for their own patients on Izod Ward."

The news was also welcomed by Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff who thanked the people of the Vale for their magnificent support which had "saved it from destruction."

He said: "This was a wonderful example of a community coming together and saying with one voice that a much loved and valued local service must not be lost.

"The 3,000-people rally and the 30,000-signature petition sent an unavoidable message to the local NHS that could not be ignored.

"But this is only a battle won, not the end of the war. Further changes in the structure of the local NHS will lead to further challenges and threats," he said.