TALKS will start shortly on the planned disman-tling of Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust.

It is being suggested that the organisation should be broken up and its parts split between one Cumbrian trust and either one or three trusts for Lancashire.

However, chief executive Leigh Griffin told the trust board that it has been agreed that all trust staff should transfer to the new Cumbria PCT - if that goes ahead in the first instance.

It is expected that the new PCTs will not themselves provide health services under plans put forward by the Government.

But it will be the responsibility of the new trusts to decide how services should be managed and what will happen to the staff in the longer term.

The terms and conditions of staff will be protected, Dr Griffin said.

The move will prevent the break-up of the current management and service arrangements while the full scale changes are being carried out.