CAMPAIGNERS fighting to stop community health services for children being run by a private company have welcomed news the NHS is the preferred option for the role.

Fears had grown after Brighton and Hove City Council’s public health team drew up a new contract to run services including health visiting and school nursing in the city.

These are currently provided under different contracts run by Sussex Community NHS Trust but the plan is now to bring them together under a single one.

Members of Sussex Defend the NHS were worried this would lead to a private company taking over but it was announced this week that Sussex Community Trust was the preferred bidder.

The three year contract will start in April.

Trust chief executive Siobhan Melia said: “We are committed to ensuring that families and young people experience an extensive range of excellent, localised, seamless support and we look forward to working with the council to make this a reality for people in the city.

“This decision shows the high-regard in which this service is held. It is a testament to the hard work, passion and dedication of our staff.”

The move comes as the private company Coperforma, which took over the patient transport service in Sussex from South East Coast Ambulance Service earlier this year continues to experience problems.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Defend the NHS said: “This is really good news on several levels.

“First of course for the children and families across the city who are so well cared for by our NHS professional health workers in the local service but also for those nurses, counsellors, and other professionals who provide the service.

“Continuity and stability is so important in this area and it keeps the service contributing to the local health economy.

“It is also good news for local accountability and local democracy as it shows our councillors and civil servants are beginning to take notice of recent surveys showing that people across Brighton and Hove don't want our NHS broken up and sold off to mega corporations from the private sector.

“Messing up patient transport is bad enough but to have that happen with vulnerable families and young children would have been unforgivable.

“Good decision. Now let's see the service properly funded and supported.”

A city council spokesman said the council undertook a procurement process in line with its legal obligations to find a contractor.

The appointment is subject to the approval of the city’s health and wellbeing board, which meets in November.