PLANS outlining the future for health care across Craven will be unveiled next week.

After years of uncertainty the Craven, Harrogate & Rural District (CHARD) Primary Care Trust will announce the outline summary case for two new facilities, one at the current site of Skipton General Hospital and the second in North Craven.

The PCT hopes they will be fully operational in 2009.

These proposals will mark the first step towards two completely new developments in the area.

The outline summary case follows the 13-week consultation, "The Way Forward for Craven".

As part of the process Craven residents were invited to put forward their views on a range of options regarding the future for health care in the area.

The majority of respondents were in favour of building purpose-built facilities to replace services currently available at Skipton General Hospital and Castleberg Hospital, in Giggleswick.

A spokesman for CHARD said: "Through a process of option appraisal, extensive public consultation and stakeholder involvement, the PCT has identified preferred options which balance the need for sustainable specialist services with local access."

At meetings held in Skipton and North Craven a range of ideas were put forward from strategic partners about what kinds of services should be located in the new developments.

One of the overriding suggestions was to make both developments a type of "one-stop shop" whereby patients would be able to access a range of services, so that different appointments could coincide to save time and avoid any further inconvenience, as well as adding in extra services such as a crche.

The outline summary case, which will be presented at a CHARD board meeting on Tuesday (October 5) at Skipton Town Hall will illustrate why investment is required and give detailed information on the health needs for Craven.