A WATFORD health campaign group has condemned proposals to merge West Hertfordshire Health Authority with another in the county.

It was announced on Monday this week that a three month public consultation into the merger of the two health authorities into one Hertfordshire- wide health authority, will start in July.

But Mrs Jean Brett, chairman of Watford Against the Closure of Hospitals (WATCH), said she did not see the point of merging the two authorities which used to be united and called Hertfordshire Health Agency before splitting in 1996.

'It's merger madness,' said Mrs Brett.

'Haven't they learned from past mistakes? They say these mergers save money but that's rubbish. All that happens is the person at the top ends up with a much larger salary.

'Everything is merging at the moment in the business world, but the difference between health authorities and trusts is that they are dealing with human life not cans of baked beans.

'It certainly isn't good at a time when there is so much change within the health service with the Primary Care Groups and the recent hospital mergers - West Herts should be keeping an eye on them.'

A spokeswoman for West Hertfordshire Health Authority said the two authorities were at one time united and then split because it was felt it was too difficult to plan health for a population of one million people.

Since then, she said, the trend had been to set up smaller health organisations, such as primary care groups and primary care trusts, made up of GPs and nurses, which plan health for their local communities, taking over many of the health authority's traditional responsibilities and therefore making one authority for the whole county more viable.

Ms Linda Hamlyn, chief executive of West Hertfordshire Health Authority, added: 'We are already working closely with East and North Hertfordshire Health Authority as many of our plans are common across the whole of Hertfordshire.'

Mr Chris Heginbotham, chief executive of East and North Hertfordshire Health Authority, said: 'A single authority would also help us to develop closer working with other county-wide agencies, such as the police and Hertfordshire County Council.

'Both health authorities now intend to spend more time in discussion with our staff, community health councils, and other stakeholders to develop the merger proposals in more detail.'

Barrie Taylor, chief officer of health watchdog South West Herts Community Health Council, said: 'We see this as an inevitable cause of everything which is happening in the health service at the moment.

'Our main concern is how it will work. We will be seeking assurances that the merger will actually improve patient care.'