THE Government has given the go-ahead for Herefordshire Primary Care Group to become a full-blown NHS Trust on Oct 1.

It is the first care group in the the West Midlands to be given trust status.

The new trust will take over the work of Herefordshire Community Health Trust as well as being responsible for purchasing all local hospital services for Herefordshire's population of 167,000.

Its budget will be between £80 and £90 million a year.

The Secretary of State for Health is expected to announce the name of a chairman, and that of non-executive directors to be responsible for the trust in the near future.

Around 1,000 staff now employed by the Community Health Trust will be transferred to the employment of the new Primary Care Trust on October 1. Headquarters for the Trust will remain at Belmont Abbey.

The introduction of primary care groups was a major plank in the Government's reshuffle of health service management announced in 1998. It did away with GP fund-holding, but gave the initiative to doctors and nurses and other health professionals to take charge of many NHS services in their areas at grass roots levels.

The Herefordshire Community Care Group started in April last year, with Dr Ian Tait of Bromyard as chairman and Simon Hairsnape as chief executive.

Within 18 months it will have become a full trust, with a much bigger role, taking on responsibility for a wide range of NHS community care services in Herefordshire, including those provided in the community hospitals.