FEARS are mounting that Frenchay Hospital will be closed in a major U-turn on promises to downgrade the facility.

Supporters of the hospital are worried that instead of creating a community hospital for locals when the new super hospital at Southmead opens in 2013, NHS South Gloucestershire will shut the world famous hospital completely.

It is feared specialist departments currently based at Frenchay Hospital, including the Breast Cancer Care centre and a minor injuries unit, will be moved to the new Yate Health Centre or Southmead Hospital paving the way for the entire Frenchay site to be sold for development.

Northavon MP Steve Webb, who led the campaign to save Frenchay Hospital from being downgraded in 2005, said: "If they had said they were going to shut Frenchay there would have been a complete riot.

"The word 'downgrade' was used rather than 'close' so that it didn't sound so serious. "But the truth is that it has always been clear from day one that once they have decided to concentrate on the Southmead site and do more in individual local areas, such as Yate, then their commitment to a serious continuing presence at Frenchay would slowly wither and die."

Despite a bitter campaign, Southmead was chosen to become the area’s only acute hospital under a Government directive. At the time, a Bristol Health Service Plan was drawn up stating: "The consultation document proposes a new community hospital on the Frenchay site including a minor injuries unit, a base for the GP out of hour’s service, inpatient beds, outpatients, diagnostic services, a treatment suite, therapy services and facilities for education and training."

Bosses agreed an 84-bed community hospital would remain on the Frenchay site.

Yate town councillor Chris Willmore said: "Contract terms are being negotiated for a minor injuries unit in Yate.

"That is another step in delivering the promises that were made to the town, however, what is now happening is increasingly more and more facilities are being moved from Frenchay to Southmead.

"It seems they are trying to create a model where nothing is left at Frenchay at all."

Cllr Sue Hope (Lib Dem, Cotswold Edge) said she had been shocked to discover plans to move the breast cancer care centre had been brought forward.

She said: "A very quick meeting was held to review the options on relocating the centre to either the Bristol Royal Infirmary or Southmead.

"It was always going to be reviewed but was brought forward very suddenly.

"The main problem with moving services from Frenchay will be accessibility. You can’t actually get to Southmead from anywhere round here or from Yate by public transport."

Cllr John Godwin (Con, Winterbourne) who sits on the Frenchay Project Board, said if services which had been guaranteed to remain at Frenchay were not included in final plans for the community hospital he would withdraw his support for the proposals.

He said: "We want as many facilities as possible to remain at Frenchay. If the plans fall short of the undertakings that were made in 2005 I will be calling for a further round of public consultation on the whole project and certainly will not support the plans."

Penny Harris, chief executive of NHS South Gloucestershire, said: "Last autumn work began to plan community healthcare services for Frenchay. NHS South Gloucestershire is leading the project board that will recommend a range of options for how community healthcare services could be provided from Frenchay in the future.

"The project board is made up of half NHS and half non-NHS members to ensure that a wide range of views are represented.

"In order to determine what community health services will be needed at Frenchay, the project has completed three pieces of work. The first is a needs assessment that sets out the health needs of the community, taking into account all transport routes, growths and changes in population and from which areas people are most likely to choose to come to Frenchay for health services.

"The project has looked carefully at what rehabilitation services are currently provided in the area, how they all fit together and looked at best practice to ensure that future services meet these high standards.

"Finally, we looked carefully at what health services are already provided in the area, what new services are planned and where the gaps lie.

"The next step is to see how we could feasibly fill these gaps and come up with options for services. This work is not yet complete and so we do not yet have proposals for what health services may provided from Frenchay in the future.

"If the proposals are different to what was agreed as part of the Health Services Plan in March 2005, then we will consult the public and hear their views."