Women living in Chippenham may have to travel to Bristol instead of Bath for

treatment for gynaecological cancer following a review.

The news has sparked public outcry and more than

4,000 people have signed a petition against the plan to relocate services from

Bath's Royal United Hospital to St Michael's Hospital.

Chippenham falls under

the catchment area for Bath RUH, with many patients from the area using the

current treatment centre.

The move would mean

patients travelling an extra half an hour to receive treatment.

However, NHS Bath

and North East Somerset has calmed concerns, saying that only the more complex

cases and surgery would be carried out in Bristol. The rest would remain at the

local cancer treatment centre in Bath.

Dr Kieran Morgan, director

of public health for Bath and North East Somerset, said: "We're not

talking about transferring all of care over to Bristol.

"This only accounts for about five or six days

of a person's treatment in what could be years and years of treatment.

"We're expecting only the very specialist

surgery will be done in Bristol and the rest of care will be carried on as

usual at the local hospital."