DISTRICT nurses, health visitors and other community care workers look set to become part of a new hospital super trust.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust decided at the end of last year to focus on its mental health offering, shedding its community services.

Health bosses in Bury and other areas affected by the decision have largely agreed these services will be transferred to the Northern Care Alliance, a super trust made of three quarters of Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust and Salford Royal.

Margaret O’Dwyer, Bury Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) deputy chief officer said: “Pennine Care has been delivering community services and mental health services. Over the last year they have been looking at their business model, determining what’s the best fit for the future.

“Their business model moving forward is they want to concentrate wholly on mental health and wellbeing.”

Bury Council currently pays Pennine Care around £5.5-6 million said Ms O’Dwyer, mostly on health visitors and social nursing.

She added that Bury CCG also pays Pennine Care around £18 million to carry out further community care services in the town.

At the moment Pennine Care also provides community care to Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford.

Ms O’Dwyer told councillors at the health overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday evening that the Northern Care Alliance was "willing and able to come to the table to consider taking on those services".

She said the main concern at the moment was making sure staff felt safe and giving them "positive messages".

Cllr Stella Smith asked about the possibility of staff cuts.

Ms O'Dwyer said: "There's a case put forward that actually there's more community staff required than we have at the moment. It might be a different type of person working in the community. I think if anything, there's going to be more rather than less."

Questions were also asked about what this would mean for patients.

Ms O'Dwyer said: "The public shouldn't see the difference, the services will be delivered the same way as they are, it's the employer that is going to change."

Pennine Care wants to have shed its responsibility for community services by April 2020 but health bosses hope everything will be transferred over by September this year and the staff will then be employed by the Northern Care Alliance.

The Northern Care Alliance is in the process of being formed and Salford Royal will be a guiding force behind the new group sharing its outstanding practice.

Ms O'Dwyer pointed out that Salford Royal already provides these community services for Salford and has eight years experience doing this.