Health minister John Hutton was at pains yesterday to reassure patients they would not lose out because of Bradford hospitals' £11.3 million debt.

While visiting Shipley, the minister, whose responsibilities include primary care and NHS information technology, joined MP Chris Leslie to see how Windhill Green Medical Centre in Thackley Old Road is leading the way in treating more patients closer to their homes.

And Mr Hutton said the quality of care patients received at St Luke's Hospital and Bradford Royal Infirmary, which are run by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, would not fall because of the Trust's financial problems.

He added: "None of these arguments about amounts of money have compromised patient care. It remains of a very high quality and that has been agreed by the regulator Monitor.

"I do not feel anyone has misled me about anything in relation to this episode. I hope now the Foundation Trust, Primary Care Trusts and the regulator solve the problems which exist and sort it out quickly."

Commenting on calls for Monitor's report, which led to the sacking of Trust chairman John Ryan, to be made public, Mr Hutton said: "My view is that information should be in the public domain because it is public healthcare."

The health minister was given a guided tour of the award-winning centre in Thackley Old Road, which is part of North Bradford Primary Care Trust, and met GPs and nursing staff.

As well as offering services associated with a general practice, the centre also offers patients a range of services which are traditionally found in hospitals, including minor surgery, ultrasound, ophthalmology, paediatrics, physiotherapy and hearing aid assessment. The centre also offers four-week training blocks for trainee doctors from Leeds University.

Mr Hutton praised staff and told them they were leading the way for the rest of the country to follow.

He said: "It's a very good practice with a wide range of services available for patients, and a model for how other general practices could be. We want patients to have access to a wide range of services in the community rather than having to go to hospital.

"The GPs here are taking on new roles and responsibilities - they are doing work that used to be done by consultants in hospitals."

Mr Leslie said there was a shift to local service provision and GPs were best placed to be accessed more readily by local residents.

He added: "Traditionally, GP services have been thought of as a single practitioner who gives out antibiotics from time to time but now it's completely different. There is now a range of facilities. The cottage hospitals were lost and in a way this is a return to local hospital provision."

GP Dr John Bibby said the centre

and PCT has been at the forefront

of reforms and innovations within

the NHS.

He added: "I think North Bradford Primary Care Trust managed to make the best use of opportunities that came along for the development of general practices for primary care."