Primary care trusts in Oxfordshire are about to be amalgamated into one body with responsibility for GPs and community hospitals across the county.

That seems very appropriate to us as there is now one clear message being delivered to the managers of this new trust we do not want to see community hospitals close.

Campaigners fighting the closure in the south of the county have done a great job in combining forces and launching a joint petition.

The 25,000-signature petition must already rank as one of the, if not the, biggest collected in recent times. As every day goes by, more people are adding their names to the list.

At the very least, it means the new Oxfordshire PCT will have to think very carefully before it proposes any firm changes to hospitals in southern Oxfordshire if it is to carry public opinion.