HEALTH bosses are to transfer North Staffordshire's community and elderly care services back to the trust which used to run them 10 years ago.

The area's two primary care trusts (PCTs) which co-ordinate the services have opted to partially merge with Combined Healthcare after the Government said they must hand over responsibilities for the services to other bodies.

The PCTs – North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent – currently purchase health provision care as well as manage services such as district nurses, community care and community hospitals.

But Whitehall insists the two functions must be separated to avoid any conflict of interest and has asked all PCTs to submit proposals for changes by the end of the month.

The shake-up goes hand-in-hand with another Department of Health directive to slash management costs by 30 per cent over three years. This news, revealed by The Sentinel last week, could see 200 NHS administration and clerical jobs axed in North Staffordshire.

Until now proposals for the changes have been discussed in private and one rumour was the community hospitals of Leek, Cheadle, Bradwell, Longton and Burslem's Haywood would be taken over by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

But that appears not to be supported by PCT leaders whose options have been sent to the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to be assessed before consultation on the changes starts and they are introduced next April.

George Wiskin, chairman of North Staffordshire PCT, pictured, said: "We have put forward possibilities with our partners including Stoke-on-Trent PCT and Combined Healthcare.

"At present there is no confirmed response from the SHA but our aim remains the same in that we are committed to delivering a healthy future for everyone in North Staffordshire.

"Public sector finances are under the spotlight as part of the wider economic agenda but that will not detract us from staying focused on improving the health of our population."

It has emerged another option is for the PCT's community services to be run from Stafford in a countywide organisation. But that was rejected unanimously by the trust's board.

Dr Richard Page, chairman of the trust's clinical executive committee, said: "This would cause disquiet among GPs who see North Staffordshire as a natural entity with no natural link to the south of the county."

If community services and hospitals rejoin Combined it will be a throwback to 1994 when the trust was formed to run those, as well as mental health and elderly care.

But that would throw into confusion Combined's long-delayed bid to become a free-standing foundation trust specialising in just mental health.