CAMPAIGNERS in West Devon have welcomed a Government U-turn that means rural medical centre dispensaries will stay open.

It followed a trip to 10 Downing Street by Geoffrey Cox, MP for West Devon and Torridge,   and Alison Shelton, of Okehampton Medical Centre.

They and other campaigners presented petitions signed by thousands of concerned local people.

Mr Cox, who arranged for the group presenting the petitions to gain access to Downing Street with him, said: 'I am delighted that the Government has finally seen sense, and has abandoned these ill-considered and disastrous plans.

'It is a great pity, however, that these proposals were even considered in the first place.

'The Government has provoked a great wave of fear and worry amongst elderly and vulnerable patients across the countryside for no reason.'

Alison Shelton, the practice and dispensary manager at the centre said: 'I am delighted that the Government's reconsideration of these proposals will now safeguard the access to medications and advice that patients presently experience and have appreciated for more than ten years.'

The presentation of petitions from Okehampton Medical Centre was the latest step in the campaign, intended to convey to Prime Minister Gordon Brown the complete rejection of the proposals by the people most affected by the changes.

Mrs Shelton said the decision will mean patients currently obtaining medication from the centre will be able to continue to do so.

'It's wonderful that the Government has had a rethink of the proposals, which would have affected doctors' dispensary practices.

'I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the patients for their continuous support.'

Mr Cox had received hundreds of letters from worried constituents faced with having to travel large distances to pick up their prescriptions, or losing the door to door service for the housebound run by the GPs' surgeries.

He has repeatedly spoken out in speeches and questions in the House of Commons on the damaging effect of the move on West Devon and Torridge's communities.

Mr Cox said while it was well-intentioned, the closing of the dispensary would have drastically reduced patient choice and removed another vital service for rural people, for which the GP's dispensary is often a lifeline.

He said: 'Elderly and less mobile patients were terrified about the prospect of losing yet another rural service after the recent Post Office closures and reductions in social care and other provision.

'This was a plan designed for the cities, with no regard for the interests of rural people, and I am very happy indeed that the Government has realised how damaging it would have been.'

He had also made his own submission to the Department for Health's consultation, warning of the 'cruel blow' that the proposals would deal local people were they to be adopted.