Burnley's A & E Closure Could be Stopped (Pendle Liberal Democrats)

Pendle Liberal Democrats <info@pendlelibdems.org.uk>

Burnley's A & E Closure Could be Stopped

October 23, 2006 12:50 AM

Darren Reynolds, who is fighting to save Burnley General's A&E

Residents of Burnley and Pendle are waiting to hear about the future of Burnley's Accident and Emergency Department.

Pendle Liberal Democrat member Darren Reynolds has appealed to a committee of councillors for a second opinion on the decision. Speaking to the committee, he said, "There is nothing to lose from asking the Health Secretary to look at this again, and everything to gain."

The area's PCTs have decided that the A & E will close to the most seriously ill patients, who will in future have to go down the motorway to Blackburn.

But an obscure committee that includes county councillors and councillors from Blackburn with Darwen can decide to refer the PCT's decision to Labour's Health Secretary, who can then overturn it.

The committee heard evidence from the government's own expert on A & E admissions, Professor George Alberti, who said that although there was a lot to commend the PCT's proposals, there were some areas that could be improved, and he also recommended that the committee should refer the decision to the Health Secretary.

All the evidence presented at the committee pointed the same way - refer the decision to London.

Bizarrely the committee, made up of Labour councillors, instead voted to leave the decision until after one of its members had been on holiday. A date for the decision is yet to be published.