A DEBT-RIDDEN primary care trust covering north Wiltshire has been given a poor bill of health in a national NHS review released yesterday.

The Healthcare Commission rated Kennet and North Wiltshire PCT as being among the worst nine per cent of trusts in the UK for quality of care.

Racking up multi-million pound debts, the trust was also rated bottom of the pile for managing its finances.

The trust was given weak' ratings all round - the lowest it could receive.

This week Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said trusts rated as weak' would have to implement an improvement plan within a month.

North Wiltshire health campaigners and civic leaders condemned the trust for its derisory performance and said the weak' rating came as no surprise.

Earlier this month the Kennet and North Wiltshire PCT merged with West Wiltshire and South Wiltshire PCTs, to form a Wiltshire PCT.

Rhona MacDonald, interim chief executive of the newly-merged PCT, insisted patients were receiving good standards of care but admitted challenges lay ahead. She said the PCT had already drawn up a plan of action to present to the Strategic Health Authority for the south west.