A WARRINGTON health watchdog due to be abolished later this year looks set to continue its work longer than expected.

Warrington Community Health Council, along with all other such bodies in the country, was scheduled to shut down on September 1.

But the Government has announced that this date will now be changed to December 1. This will mean two people at the Warrington CHC face redundancy.

A spokesman for Warrington CHC confirmed that it had received notice of the change and had sent out letters to members on Thursday and was awaiting feedback.

Malcolm Alexander, director of the Association of Community Health Councils, said: "It is clear that this decision was taken at the very last minute.

"CHC staff had already been told to expect redundancy notices in the post last Saturday and many CHCs are already well along the road to planning their future closure for September 1.

"There are a lot of worried, angry and frustrated people out there and there is no doubt that this issue could have been handled better.

"However, this is good news for patients and the public and we welcome the fact that the Government has listened to our concerns on this issue.

"This extension means that CHCs will be able to continue to monitor the NHS during the vital transition period.

"This extension also offers the opportunity to all sides to put a genuine transition process in place that ensures that the skills and experience of CHC staff and members are not lost to the new system."