There are fears Helston could lose its minor injury unit or even the hospital itself in plans to shake up the way health care is provided by the NHS.

Cornwall Council and local NHS trusts have revealed their plans for the next five years, in the face of government budget cuts.

They include cutting the number of minor injury units, of which there are currently 13 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This is despite the body looking at the changes stating in its own document that: "People told us they want quick, convenient access to services."

Instead the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Transformation Board is looking at turning minor injury units into "urgent care centres" on fewer sites. Currently only one exists in the county, at Penzance's West Cornwall Hospital.

It means that many people will end up having to travel further, but for what the board claims will be "better" care, with a bigger range of services and more clinical staff under one roof.

However, it acknowledges that on average people will have to travel up to 30 minutes to reach these centres.

The board states: "If we want to improve the level of service at urgent care centres, increase access to senior clinicians out of hours and offer more GP appointments at weekends we won’t be able to afford services or provide staff at 14 locations."

Perhaps even more worryingly, Helston's hospital itself could be under threat, as the number of community hospitals in the county looks almost certain to reduce.

The consultation document states: "Better community and home care should mean less need for community hospital beds and sites so we may reduce these over time, particularly if they need major financial investment."

It goes into more detail by saying that to support GPs and community health teams the board wanted to adapt community hospitals to become "community hubs" offering multiple services, to prevent or reduce the amount of emergency care provided by hospitals such as the Royal Cornwall - effectively nipping problems in the bud before they become serious.

This will also be done by providing more care at home and expanding the roles of pharmacists, practice nurses, health care assistants and therapists to try to prevent ill health in the first place, by reducing five factors - alcohol, smoking, physical inactivity, diet and social isolation

However, the board warns: "This may mean a reduction in sites and concentrating services in better locations, because we expect changes in community services to reduce the need for community hospital beds."

Older buildings and those in a poor state of repair are likely to be the first to go, with the board stating they would "prefer not to spend money on old buildings and instead invest that money in clinicians providing direct patient care."

A review of these hospitals is likely to begin as early as next year.

The board coming up with these proposals includes Cornwall Council, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust that operates the county's main hospitals and the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust which runs its smaller units - including Helston Community Hospital - among other bodies.

It is now up to the public to say what they do and don't want to happen.

A consultation on the so-called Sustainability and Transformation Plan began on Monday and ends on January 20. Representatives from Cornwall Council and the NHS will be at next week's Helston & Lizard Community Network Panel meeting at Cury Village Hall, taking place on Wednesday, December 7 from 6pm until 8pm to answer questions about the proposals.

There are also events dedicated solely to this topic taking place at St John’s Hall in Penzance on Tuesday, January 10 from 7pm to 8.30pm, the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth on Monday, January 16 from 3pm to 4.30pm, Truro Health and Wellbeing Centre on Wednesday, January 18, from 3pm to 4.30pm, and Heartlands on Thursday, January 19 from 7pm to 8.30pm.

To read more about the plans and all the related documents, including a survey, visit cornwall.gov.uk/shapethefuture