IT is now urgent that Ilkley people see their Coronation Hospital rebuilt as soon as possible. Even with the best will in the world from Airedale Primary Care Trust, the delay in providing a new building to house Ilkley's hospital services could see more hospital services lost.

Already this year, Ilkley has lost gynaecology and obstetrics clinics at the Coronation Hospital, and now the Minor Injuries Unit has become the latest casualty. Reasons for the cuts have not been unacceptable. Apparently national rules meant Ilkley's gynaecology specialist was urgently needed back on the maternity wards at Airedale General Hospital. The second gynaecology clinic was under-subscribed by local patients.

Now health chiefs say the MIU is under-used and many of the ailments treated should have been treated elsewhere. This may be the case, but the more services Ilkley loses, the more likely it is that they will be eroded further.

The PCT's commitment to providing the proposed Health Care Centre cannot be doubted now that so much effort has gone into the plan. However until the centre has been built it is always easy to save much-needed money for the future by scaling down the building and planning to put services elsewhere. And should new Government regulations or contracts change health services yet again, it is harder to justify extra health spending on a service that does not yet have a permanent home for the future.

The Minor Injuries Unit was something that some campaigners were of the opinion should stay, along with the Radiography Unit. The loss of one unit raises fears about the other.

As for the MIU's services, the PCT says much of the work can be done by local GP surgeries. However, anyone with something more serious but not quite an emergency will have to first wait for an assessment by a local GP, then face the trek to the Wharfedale Hospital in Otley or to Airedale for treatment.