BURY'S two walk-in centres will remain open for at least eight more months.

NHS Bury CCG has confirmed that the centres, at Prestwich and within Moorgate Primary Care Centre in Bury, will remain operational until at least March 31 2018.

Stuart North, chief officer of the CCG, said: “The CCG has been working with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and BARDOC to develop proposals to stabilise service delivery at both centres until this date.

"To enable both centres to remain more resilient, Prestwich Walk-In Centre is managed by BARDOC and Bury Walk-In Centre is managed by Pennine Care.

“The CCG remains committed to the redesign of urgent care services in Bury in order to ensure the best possible care for the GP registered population of Bury.

"We will communicate further updates on the next steps in this process following the release of further national and Greater Manchester guidance.”

The public consultation on the future of urgent care services in Bury was paused in March to allow for the release of further national guidance.

Since then it has been confirmed that the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership is also considering the composition of urgent care services across Greater Manchester.

Current indications are that it is likely to be September 2017 at the earliest before this further guidance is released.

Once this is received it will be assessed against the current Bury urgent care redesign proposals, and next steps will then be determined.

The consultation will remain paused until the further guidance is received.

Bury Council leader Cllr Rishi Shori said: “Obviously I’m delighted that the decision has been made so that a thorough and proper investigation can be done to ensure that local residents are not disadvantaged by any cuts to local services.

“We will be actively working with the CCG to see what solutions can be found to keep open these valuable services in Prestwich and Bury.”

Bury North MP James Frith, who has campaigned to keep the walk-ins open, also welcomed the decision.

He said: "Saving Bury walk-in centre is my top priority and I am delighted with this decision to guarantee its immediate future for the next nine months.

"However, my commitment is to secure a walk-in service in the long term for the people of Bury, Tottington and Ramsbottom and I will continue to work to achieve that goal in the coming weeks and months.

"Walk-in services have to form part of the new integrated care plans for Bury and I am pleased that this appears to now be recognised by the CCG.

“I will be pressing the government to release its national guidance as soon as possible and working with colleagues across Greater Manchester to ensure that the review of urgent care provision fully considers our walk-in services and the vital role they play."

Information about the walk-in centres opening times can be found at: www.penninecare.nhs.uk/burywic or Prestwich WIC: www.penninecare.nhs.uk/prestwichwalkincentre