Senior NHS managers have ruled out the imminent privatisation of community health services in Devon after workers opposed the suggestion.

Devon Primary Care Trust (DPCT) has opted for an "interim measure" to keep the £131 million budget, which includes 21 cottage hospitals, under public control.

Staff overwhelmingly rejected the creation of a social enterprise company amid fears that pensions, terms and conditions would be lost.

Only last week, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust agreed to draw up a business case for a not-for-profit company to run 14 hospitals and a £75m budget.

Dr David Radford, DPCT chairman, told an emergency meeting yesterday that the board had faced an "uncomfortably fast timetable" to give up control of community health services.

He said the decision would offer "medium term stability with long-term elegance of design".

The Labour Government ordered NHS trusts, which commission services, to divest from service providers under the Transforming Community Services initiative.

This required DPCT to relinquish control – currently via its arms-length provider, Devon Provider Services – by April next year.

Devon and Cornwall needed to rule in or out the possibility of a social enterprise company taking over by today.

Otherwise they would miss the deadline for submissions to the Government's Right to Request (RTR) scheme.

Without this RTR guarantee, the terms and conditions of workers who transfer out of the NHS into a new organisation cannot be protected.

To canvass opinion, DPCT held 10 separate events this month and asked 755 of the 2,500 community health staff how they wanted services to be run after April.

Sixty per cent wanted to stay within the NHS family, with three quarters complaining they felt too "rushed" to make a decision.

Sally Slade, DPCT managing director of health and social care delivery, told the meeting at Exeter Racecourse yesterday, that staff felt there were "too many uncertainties".

The board refused to disclose details and excluded the public late yesterday afternoon in order to discuss the bids with representatives of the county's GPs. But chief executive Ann James said creating a social enterprise for any of the "large blocks" would not be considered.