THE Royal Bolton will not become a 'super hospital' — with Stockport, Salford, Oldham and Manchester chosen as the four locations.

Health chiefs said the decision was “not about winners and losers” and the new system would benefit every patient in Greater Manchester saving 300 lives a year.

In a crunch Healthier Together meeting at Manchester Town Hall, bosses from the region's Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) voted unanimously in favour of making Stepping Hill in Stockport the fourth specialist centre.

They turned down bids from the Royal Bolton, Wigan and Wythenshawe because Stepping Hill was the only option which would allow all patients in the region access to a super hospital within 45 minutes.

The Royal Bolton will now become a 'local hospital' but will be part of a linked ‘single site’ which will also encompass Wigan — another 'local' hospital — and Salford Royal which will be the nearest 'super hospital'.

Patients from Bolton will travel to Salford Royal for high-risk emergency operations and stomach and bowel surgery.

Dr Jackie Bene, chief executive of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This will affect only a very few Bolton patients — maybe three a day.

"We will still have the majority of our services at the Royal Bolton Hospital including our A&E department.

"We will also still be a 'super centre' for maternity and children’s services and we will continue to provide specialist services for people in Bolton and beyond for instance in screening for bowel and breast cancers.”

Dr Wirin Bhatiani, chair of NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “This is a significant and positive step that will benefit us all regardless of where we live.

“These changes mean everyone in Greater Manchester will have access to a high standard of care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Bolton people will continue to receive the majority of their care from their local hospital.

“However, those who require a serious, once in a lifetime operation will go to Salford Royal.

“All our surgeons in Bolton, Wigan, and Salford will be working in partnership to deliver the best care for us all.”

Each 'single site' will pool medical teams, allowing staff to share expertise between different sites and move patients between hospitals quickly.

The plans, which will be implemented in the next two to three years, will ensure surgeons at the super hospitals can carry out emergency and high-risk operations seven days a week.

All 10 hospitals will have a senior doctor in A&E for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week; a senior doctor in every acute medical ward for 12 hours a day, seven days a week; and daily clinics at every site for assessment of patients with urgent general surgery problems.

One of the aims of Healthier Together was that patients should be able to have emergency access to a super hospital within 45 minutes by car or ambulance.

The meeting heard how 73,000 people who live in east Cheshire and north Derbyshire but travel into Greater Manchester for hospital treatment would not be able to access a super hospital within 45 minutes unless Stepping Hill was chosen.

For the 148,000 patients who use the region’s hospitals but live outside Greater Manchester to the north and west, they would be able to meet the target whichever of the four options for the last super hospital was chosen.

Health bosses said 97 per cent of Greater Manchester’s population should be able to access their super hospital by public transport within an hour and 15 minutes.

Programme board deputy chair Ian Williamson said: “This is not a judgement on the quality of care provided in hospitals.

“The decision is about the best geographical location of services to serve our patients. Instead of winners and losers we believe the whole population will be winners because these proposals will save 300 lives a year."

Dr Bhatiani said the decision was not about competing but was about “working together for the benefit of patients”.

After the meeting, he said Bolton NHS Foundation Trust was committed to working together with trusts in Wigan and Salford.

He added: “Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has been working in partnership with Wigan and Salford hospitals for some time now.

“They have expressed a keen willingness to work together to provide a single service in our part of Greater Manchester.

“The Healthier Together decision announced today strongly supports this continuing collaboration.”