Calls for review of A&E services

Royal Blackburn handles all A&E admissions in east Lancashire

Councillors in east Lancashire have written to the health secretary calling for a review of A&E care in the region.

The leaders of Burnley and Pendle councils said they were concerned about an "unacceptable level of services" being provided for patients.

Royal Blackburn Hospital has handled all emergency cases in the area since Burnley's A&E unit closed in 2007.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) said the changes had improved, not harmed, patient care.

Complaint claims

Burnley Borough Council wrote to the former Health Secretary Alan Johnson in February 2008 calling for a review of the decision to close Burnley's A&E department.

No review was undertaken but the councils claim that patients have continued to complain.

The latest letter, signed by leader Gordon Birtwistle and his Pendle equivalent John David, was sent on Monday.

It claimed that patient satisfaction and community confidence in the trust was "rock bottom".

"Both councils remain deeply concerned about the unacceptable level of services that our citizens are receiving," the letter states.

The changes have been proved to save lives, and in light of this, the trust does not support the councillors' calls for a further review Val Bertenshaw, ELHT

"A debate took place in our respective council meetings, at which both councils resolved to call upon yourself and the trust to commission urgently an independent expert review of A&E services."

Val Bertenshaw, Director of Operations at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said the reconfiguration of A&E services had already been supported by three separate reviews.

And she said that death rates among emergency patients had fallen "significantly" as a direct result of the changes.

"We know we have some work to do to improve patients' experiences in hospital, and national experts Dr Simon Walford and Mr Jeremy Pease are working with us to do that," Ms Bertenshaw said.

"However, contrary to the councillors' claims, there has been a slight reduction in the number of complaints per patients seen by the trust over the last 12 months.

"The changes have been proved to save lives, and in light of this, the trust does not support the councillors' calls for a further review."