The six pilot community foundation trusts have hired a public relations firm to promote their primary care trust provider model.

Ashton, Leigh and Wigan; Cambridgeshire; Liverpool; Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland; Oldham; and South Birmingham PCTs have pooled resources and hired Weber Shandwick to raise the profile of community foundation trusts to staff, patients and the public.

Their decision followed concern that the Department of Health, which originally launched the pilots, had gone cool on the model.

Senior staff working in pilot sites said the DH was now supporting their work and all six schemes had satisfied Monitor, the foundation trust regulator, with their arm's-length organisations.

Matthew Winn, chief operating officer of Cambridgeshire PCT's provider arm, said: "They've now started to talk about us at department level to say this is a viable option.

"I can't imagine if we're successful that they're not going to allow some other large [PCT provider] organisations to come behind that."

Weber Shandwick has already produced one brochure, which was given to delegates at last week's NHS Confederation conference.

The document follows an NHS Confederation report highlighting problems with the progression from PCT provider arm to foundation, including demonstrating to Monitor that arm's-length organisations were sufficiently well established to pass the regulator's criteria.

Mr Winn said: "[Monitor chair] Bill Moyes is happy with our autonomy - we've all been rubber stamped. He's confirmed that they would test us on that basis."

The pilot sites said their unusual decision to hire a PR firm was essential to raise the profile of the community sector. Mr Winn said: "Community services need a much higher profile." Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT medical director Kate Fallon said community services needed to address the threat of the private sector or risk "withering on the vine".

DH director general of commissioning and system management Mark Britnell welcomed the emergence of "different organisational forms" as PCTs grappled with their provider arms.

HSJ understands that the department is to produce a document with further details on divesting provider arms shortly.

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