THE biggest shake-up of the region's healthcare for generations is set to move one step closer to reality.

Health chiefs are due to make a decision on Greater Manchester’s Healthier Together plans at a crunch meeting today.

The shake-up – which is hoped to save 300 lives each year – will see all hospitals in the region operate across multiple sites as part of four or five "single services".

This means two local hospitals will share services with a specialist hospital — and could see the Royal Bolton chosen as a “super centre” providing specialist emergency surgery.

At today’s meeting, members of the Committees in Common (CiC) — a body made up of GPs from each clinical commissioning group (CCG) in Greater Manchester — will decide on whether there should be four or five single services across the region.

A second meeting on July 15 will decide where these services should be located.

When Healthier Together launched, Salford, Oldham and central Manchester were earmarked as specialist centres.

The Royal Bolton, Wigan, Stockport and Wythenshawe have all been shortlisted to become one of the other two specialist hospitals in the region.

If the Royal Bolton is chosen it will carry out emergency and high-risk surgery — but if it is not it will still have an A&E department, planned surgery and full acute medical care.

The single service plans will pool medical teams across hospitals, allowing staff to share expertise between different sites and move patients between hospitals quickly.

They will also ensure surgeons at specialist hospitals can work together to carry out emergency and high-risk operations seven days per week.

Healthier Together was launched in response to suggestions patients were experiencing some of the worst healthcare in the country and were more likely to die in the evenings and at weekends because hospitals do not have enough staff.

Last summer residents were given the chance to give feedback on the changes — with 1,500 people in Bolton and more than 22,000 across Greater Manchester responding.

More than 60 per cent of Bolton respondents agreed it would be better to provide specialist care at a smaller number of hospitals, while almost 80 per cent supported doctors and nurses working in teams across hospitals.

The CiC will come to a decision by considering a range of factors – including the consultation feedback, patient experience, travel and access, workforce, costs and hospital estates.

The meeting will take place between 2pm and 5pm at the banqueting hall in Manchester Town Hall and is open to the public.

The second meeting on service locations, also open to the public, is to be held in the same location at the same time on July 15.

Whatever the outcome, it is expected the Royal Bolton will work with Salford and Wigan hospitals after the trusts announced last September that they were creating an alliance.

The “north west sector” plans will see the three trusts — which have been pitted against each other as rivals — pool their surgeons for emergency and elective general surgery.