A NURSING union has voiced fears that a multi-million pound NHS contract to provide community health care in County Durham and Darlington could be handed to a private company.

The Royal College of Nursing said it was "completely wrong" for GP commissioners to consider breaking up the service into parts.

But GP commissioners said the move was necessary to check the quality and value for money of current community services and would probably not lead to significant changes.

The RCN expressed concern after GP commissioners in County Durham and Darlington confirmed they will review whether to renew contracts with the community wing of the County Durham and Darlington hospital trust for 2014-15.

Currently a whole host of community services in County Durham and Darlington - from district nurses to physiotherapists - are provided by the trusts community staff. That contract runs out on March 31 2014.

Estephanie Dunn, operational manager for the RCN in the region, said the NHS "must not be hived off to a large number of different private providers who are focused on creating profits."

She said it was "completely the wrong thing for CCGs to consider breaking up the service into parts and it is not what the local community wants either."

Dr Stewart Findlay, chief clinical officer for Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said; "We are taking the opportunity to work with frontline clinical staff, local GPs, patients and other stakeholders to improve integration between primary and secondary care, ensure that the services meet local needs, and that they are of a high quality and represent value for money.

"The three CCGs will be working closely with partners including the local authority and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust to review the services provided as part of this contract. "We feel this is an important opportunity for clinical commissioning groups to make sure that we are providing the right community services for our populations. We do not see that this process will result in significant changes in service provider. I would like to reassure local people that patients, carers and other stakeholders will be fully consulted on any planned changes."

A spokesman for the County Durham and Darlington hospital trust said: "We will be working with the clinical commissioning groups to make sure we can continue to provide the high quality and responsive services which patients and GPs need."