THE Great Western Hospital Trust has confirmed it will be stopping providing services for children and young people across Wiltshire as part of a move to reorganise its priorities.

For the last four years services, such as immunisation programmes and support groups, have been organised by the trust as part of a contract with NHS Wiltshire.

However, with that agreement coming to an end early next year the decision has been made to instead focus adult care.

The move, which will not impact on Swindon, was announced in a report set to go before a council committee next week.

As commissioners of the service, NHS Wiltshire will now seek to put the contract out to tender so another provider can be found.

The report, written by the trust, says: “Our contract to provide Children’s And Young People’s Services in Wiltshire comes to an end in March 2016.

“This follows the board’s decision not to bid to retain the service, which means the service will transfer to a new provider next year.

“We took responsibility for Wiltshire Children’s And Young People’s Services in 2011, originally on a short term contract while reorganisations elsewhere in the NHS took place.

“However, the contract was extended and is now due to end 31 March 2016.

“Instead, over the next few years the trust will be focusing on building our adult community healthcare services across Wiltshire, bringing care closer to home, joining up services and keeping people well and out of hospital.

“As a trust this is where we can make the greatest contribution to improving healthcare, by ensuring we’re providing services that are designed around individual patient needs, as we respond to the challenges of our growing and aging population.”

Earlier this week it was revealed that the trust is in the process of trying to cut a forecasted deficit of £18.6m.

And it has introduced a large cost cutting exercise.

Part of this involves looking at how the trust operates and looking at what it invests in.

But hospital chiefs say a lot has been achieved while they have been running the services.

A spokesman said: “We are extremely proud of the service we have delivered to local children, young people and their families over the past few years.

“And there have been some great improvements to the care and support these often vulnerable children and young people receive.