title: PCT merger. Building bridges.
abstract: Primary care trusts can be torn between the need for critical mass and the danger of losing local vision and ownership; mergers are politically unpopular and fraught with difficulty. A review of Trafford South PCT stakeholders enabled a range of organisational models to be tested. The result was the creation of a 'joint and integrated management structure' for the two Trafford PCTs.
authors.affiliation: Birmingham University Health Services Management Centre.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peck
mesh_terms: D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D009111:Local Government; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009935:Organizational Affiliation; D010067:Ownership; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom