THE threat to abolish separate primary care trusts (PCTs) across Teesside and create a single "mega-trust" has been lifted after a Government reprieve last night.

Many health care workers were expecting Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to create a single super primary care trust, covering the area - a move that would have led to job losses.

But yesterday the Government decided to retain many trusts that had been under threat.

The announcement means plans to merge the Hartlepool trust with those in Middlesbrough, Stockton, and Redcar and Cleveland have been dropped.

Instead, the independence of each trust is safe for the forseeable future.

The decision was welcomed by Hartlepool MP Iain Wright, who has campaigned to retain the town's PCT.

He said the announcement was "fantastic news for the people of Hartlepool".

He said that since the trust had been introduced, the town had made great strides in areas such as smoking cessation and cutting teenage pregnancies.

"This was because the PCT was responsive to local needs. I was fighting to make sure that we can continue to make progress," he said.

Mr Wright said his main fear was that decisions affecting Hartlepool's health would not be made by people in the town.

In a separate move, the Government confirmed that two new ambulance trusts would be set up across the region.

The North-East Ambulance Service, which covers County Durham, Tyneside and Wearside will be extended to include all of Teesside.

A new ambulance trust covering Yorkshire and Humberside will take in North Yorkshire.

Elsewhere across the region a number of other PCTs survived the latest round of mergers.

Regional health authority bosses had wanted to incorporate Darlington in a super trust for County Durham.

But Ms Hewitt appeared to heed a campaign led by former Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn by agreeing to keep the town's PCT independent.

Last night, Mr Milburn said: "This will be welcomed as good news in Darlington.

"I want to thank ministers for listening to local people who campaigned in large numbers to retain their PCT."

However, the Goverment's desire to reduce administration and make the regional NHS more efficient means that some trusts will lose their independent.

In County Durham, the Durham Dales, Sedgefield, Derwentside, Durham and Chester-le-Street, and Easington PCTs will make way for a county-wide PCT.

A number of County Durham MPs, including Easington's John Cummings and North Durham's Kevan Jones, called for their local PCTs to be spared.

Further south the expected abolition of all four North Yorkshire PCTs went ahead.

It means that trusts in Hambleton and Richmondshire, Craven, Harrogate and Rural District, Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale and Selby and York will be merged to form a North Yorkshire and York PCT.

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