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Radical plans to merge Manchester’s three hospital trusts have moved a step closer after health chiefs backed the move.

The move could see North Manchester Hopsital, MRI and Wythenshawe Hospital - currently under three separate NHS trusts - all come under the same NHS management.

And now the city’s health and wellbeing board, chaired by council leader Sir Richard Leese alongside GP, patient, charity and hospital representatives, have given their green light to the plan this morning.

The trusts in charge of the hospitals - Central Manchester, University Hopsital of South Manchester and Pennine Acute - will now spend six weeks hammering out the finer detail of how that process should happen and what it could mean for patients.

However patient group Healthwatch, while broadly supportive, has sounded out a warning over the speed of the move.

It says that Manchester patients and residents must be more actively involved in the process before the resulting plan becomes a ‘done deal’.

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Last week it emerged Sir Jonathan Michael, a King’s Fund health expert commissioned by the council to look at the best model for running hospitals in Manchester, had concluded that one single trust was the best way forward, meaning North Manchester General could be removed from struggling Pennine Acute.

The plan would create a much clearer, more consistent level of healthcare in the city, the expert claimed, making health bosses more accountable and lining up services with GPs and social care.

It is estimated the move would save around £20m a year, although the reorganisation itself is likely to be expensive.

So far it is unclear what the impact will be on services in the city, but it is likely to mean some services being closed or moved.

Nevertheless a restructure is absolutely not ‘an end in itself’, stressed Sir Jonathan, but simply a vehicle through which to make care better.

The plan had immediately prompted fears that taking North Manchester General Hospital out of Pennine would hit the trust’s other hospitals in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury.

But Sir Richard said he had spoken to council leaders in the areas, who he said were ‘supportive’, while a separate review being led by consultant Mike Farrar is reviewing health care in general across the north east of Greater Manchester.

He also said parts of Pennine Acute, which is currently being overseen by Salford Royal, has effectively been ‘in intensive care’ of late.

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The city’s other two hospital trusts must now play their part in supporting North Manchester General hospital, he said.

Meanwhile Mike Wild, representing the city’s voluntary sector, said it was vital patients were put at the heart of the process - stressing trusts should not just ‘broadcast’ their plans at residents but have a proper discussion with them.

And Vicky Szulist, chair of patient organisation Healthwatch, warned against the move being a ‘done deal by the time it gets to patients’.

Nevertheless all the GPs, commissioners, councillors and hosptial leaders - including board chairs - around the table said they were supportive of the move.

Councillor Paul Andrews, who is in charge of health and social care for the council, said he was delighted such an agreement between so many organisations had been reached.

Two years ago trying to get to such a point had felt like ‘walking through custard’, he added.

Central, UHSM and Pennine will now report back in August.