A Cornwall MP has called on the Health Secretary to ensure transferring its community hospitals to a private organisation is not carried out under "a cloak of darkness".
Health unions have raised fears about the speed of the move which will have an impact on 2,400 staff.
Fourteen community hospitals, district and school nurses and speech and language therapists will be affected.
St Ives MP Andrew George said the move was being done at "breakneck speed".
'Lack of engagement'
The acting chief executive of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust Steve Moore said the transfer of staff to the new organisation would be completed by October.
He told BBC Radio Cornwall they were required to take action by the Department of Health but he pledged to continue consulting the public on the issue.
Chris Dayus, from Unison, said they were concerned about the pace of change.
There had been a "lack of engagement with staff" and more than 80% of workers contacted by the union did not support the move, she said.
The new body set up to run the community hospitals is known as a Community Interest Company, which were set up under the 2006 Companies Act to "operate for the benefit of the community rather than for the benefit of the owners of the company".
Mr George said community hospitals had been in public ownership for decades and people had to be given a chance to express their views.
Cornwall Council member Jude Robinson is currently trying to collect 5,000 names on a petition to trigger a full council debate on the plan.
- Published22 September 2010
