BURY'S health watchdog has been given a reprieve by the House of Lords.
The Government wants to scrap Community Health Councils, independent bodies which look after patients' interests.
It plans to replace CHCs, which have existed since 1974, with a "bureaucratic" patients council in every health trust.
But this was defeated by the Lords this week, who worried that the new watchdogs would not have enough teeth.
The news was cheered by Tory politician John Walsh, prospective Parliamentary candidate for Bury North.
He said the CHC's campaign for a new emergency access road to Fairfield Hospital, arguing against the health authority, shows how important it is.
"The CHC has done a first class job over the years in speaking out for the patient," he said. "That independent voice must not be lost."
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