Bradford Council staff have bombarded health chiefs with objections about proposals for a new Care Trust.

Bradford Health Authority has received 233 letters of complaint about employment terms if plans to merge learning disability and mental health services go ahead.

The Care Trust would combine relevant NHS and Social Services departments in Bradford, Airedale and Craven and would be one of the first of its kind in the country.

Following a two-month consultation, Bradford Health Authority agreed to approve the plans at a public meeting, but said they would highlight staff concerns to central Government.

Bradford Health Authority chairman, Councillor Ralph Berry, said the staff's worries were "entirely reasonable and understandable in the circumstances."

"Bradford is leading the way forward and addressing a problem that's been around since 1974 - a structural divide of services that work with the same people," he said.

"But there are concerns that staff may have. I can say that we shall be taking every step we can to bring these to the centre of attention as these issues can and should be addressed."

The consultation found that most patients, carers and local health organisations across the district supported the plans.

But Council staff fear they would lose out on pension and continuous service benefits if they transferred to the NHS Trust.

Chairman of the Bradford branch of UNISON, Liz Devlin, said there were too many unanswered questions and not enough time to resolve issues before establishing the Trust on April 1.

"The fact that posts in the proposed Care Trust have been publicly advertised before the end of the consultation period gives the impression that this decision is a fait accompli and the consultation process merely a window dressing exercise," she said.

Bradford's patient watchdogs supported the plans, although Airedale Community Health Council raised objections about the speed of the consultation.

The application will be considered by Bradford Council on January 29, before going to Health Secretary Alan Milburn for final approval.