A DECISION on whether to change the face of healthcare in the borough by setting up six one-stop health shops will be revealed in seven days.

The Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts will hold a public meeting at the Longfield Suite in Fairfax Road, Prestwich, on September 14 at 9.30am to make a provisional decision on the Healthy Futures proposals.

The plans aim to improve health services for 800,000 people living across Bury, Heywood and Middleton, Rochdale, Oldham, North Manchester and Rossendale. More hospital services will be brought into the community with the development of new "one-stop-health-shops" offering a variety of services under one roof.

Plans have already been unveiled to build a multi-million pound medical centre in Radcliffe due to open in summer 2008, allowing patients to access up to five GP practices, minor surgery facilities, community dental services, speech and language therapy, podiatry, outpatient consultation and treatment, sexual health, a pharmacy and other services. Other developments are also planned for Bury town centre, Prestwich, Whitefield, Ramsbottom and Tottington.

Healthy Futures, which completed a four-month public consultation earlier this year, also includes three options surrounding Fairfield Hospital - the preferred one to have Fairfield, North Manchester and Royal Oldham hospitals providing acute medical and A&E services, with Rochdale Infirmary becoming one of the country's first locality hospitals.

Fairfield would lose its acute surgery with services transferred to North Manchester and Royal Oldham.

Health bosses say the changes are necessary as current services are spread too thinly across the region and are under pressure to change as technology continues to improve and people spend less time in hospital, dealing with illness in the home instead.

Representatives from six PCTs will make the provisional decision which will have to be compatible with the controversial Making it Better proposals which aim to close Fairfield's maternity department. A decision on that consultation is expected in December.

Keith Surgeon, chief executive of Healthy Futures, said: "At the meeting we hope that the joint committee will reach a provisional decision on the future shape of healthcare in the north east of Greater Manchester.

"Once a decision is reached, detailed planning work will begin on the changes which will provide better facilities for patients, greater support for those with chronic conditions and centres of excellence throughout the area. Patients will be fully involved in this planning work and changes will take time to implement. We anticipate it will take at least five years for all changes to come into effect."