A hospital trust branded as failing will have to wait another week to discover if it will be taken over by the private sector or a charity.

Brighton Health Care NHS Trust is one of five in England with no stars in the Government's hospital rating system.

If chief executive Stuart Welling cannot satisfy health ministers he has managed to improve the trust's performance he will lose his job and the management will be put out to tender.

The Government was due to announce the trust's fate in a written Parliamentary answer at Westminster last night.

But Downing Street said the announcement had now been put back until next week at the earliest.

The delay comes amid reports health secretary Alan Milburn has decided against sacking the five trust chief executives whose jobs are at risk nationally, including Mr Welling.

Earlier this month, the trust said it had made dramatic improvements in the three areas where it was said to be failing.

All women referred urgently with suspected breast cancer are now seen by a consultant within two weeks.

Patients are no longer waiting more than 12 hours in accident and emergency after doctors decide to admit them to hospital and outpatient waiting list numbers are continuing to fall.