BURY'S health watchdog will be put down on September 1, sparking fears that hospital bosses will no longer be held accountable for their actions.

Under Government plans, Bury Community Health Council (CHC), along with CHCs across the country, will be abolished and replaced with Patient Forums, which will come into effect on January 1.

Bury CHC chief officer Mr Paul Reynolds believes the councils are being axed because of the many "unsavoury aspects of health management" they have brought light.

He said: "It seems we have been a victim of our own success. The Government claims that some CHCs are under-performing. But Ministers will not tell us which ones, despite our requests. And you don't close down a whole organisation simply because a few of their members are under-performing."

Although details on the set-up of the forums is unclear, it is believed they will be managed by the local authority.

Mr Reynolds said: "The real worry is that the CHC will cease to exist from September 1 and the new forums will start on January 1, leaving a huge gap where patients, health staff and the public have no one to approach with their concerns."

He added: "CHCs are an independent body specifically dealing with matters of health, whereas in the local authority members have to toe the party line and may be prevented from speaking out. At the same time, the local authority has many different issues to deal with."

Community Health Councils were established in 1974. Bury CHC was responsible for saving Bealey Community Hospital and leading a successful campaign for a breast screening unit at Fairfield General Hospital.

Mr Reynolds said: "It took Bury CHC years to build up the confidence and trust of health staff. Now I have seen a document where it states the new patient forums should not be concerned with medical staff. But it is these people who know what is going on."