FORMER Health Secretary Alan Milburn has delivered a plea for Darlington to retain its own primary care trust (PCT).

Mr Milburn, who set up a national network of PCTs when he was Secretary of State for Health, strongly criticised merger plans, which could see Darlington PCT swallowed up by a larger regional body, although he said he supported the thrust of Government policy.

The Darlington MP was one of more than 100 people who attended yesterday's public consultation meeting in the town.

After a presentation about the need to save 15 per cent of administrative costs (totalling £6m in County Durham and Tees Valley) Mr Milburn made an outspoken attack on "option one", a proposal to abolish Darlington's PCT.

"My concern is that it would mean tearing up an arrangement which everybody acknowledges is working extremely well and has delivered remarkable improvements in service," said Mr Milburn.

"If it ain't broke why are we seeking to fix it? I am at a loss why we are having a consultation at all," he said.

"People in Darlington know from bitter experience when control is taken away from the town, Darlington loses out - it is no surprise that investment in the town's schools has risen markedly once Darlington had control of its own education service."

A succession of speakers also called for the retention of Darlington PCT, including Councillor John Williams, leader of Darlington Borough Council.

David Flory, chief executive of County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority, promised that the views expressed at the meeting would be reported to the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

However, Mr Flory said he still believed that option one, creating a single PCT for County Durham including Darlington, was better suited to the Government's plans for GP-based health commissioning.