11:12am Friday 25th September 2009
By Peter Magill
SHADOW Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has insisted there is “no reason” why an accident and emergency unit cannot be re-established at Burnley General Hospital.
The MP for South Cambridgeshire made the claim during an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Telegraph after a fact-finding mission to the Casterton Avenue hospital yesterday.
Mr Lansley had been invited to visit the hospital by Richard Ali and Andrew Stephenson, the Conservative parliamentary candidates for Burnley and Pendle respectively, amid continuing unease about A&E services in East Lancashire.
He spoke with deputy chief executive Lynn Wissett and staff in Burnley General’s urgent care centre.
Mr Lansley said: “I am very clear after the conversations I have had that, in my view, there is no reason why there should not be an accident and emergency service at Burnley General Hospital.”
The shadow cabinet member said he agreed with the view, expressed earlier this year by the Royal College of Surgeons, that they did not recognise the term ‘urgent care centre’, within the NHS.
He said people remained “confused” about the distinctions between an A&E unit and urgent care centre.
While specialised emergencies, such as paediatric and head trauma cases, should continue to be diverted to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, he said, more general emergencies could be diverted to Burnley.
Mr Lansley said he would seek talks with the North West Ambulance to ensure protocols, transferring cases to Burnley wherever possible, were adhered to.
He added: “Recently I visited the Great Western Hospital, in Weston-super-Mare, which had an accident and emergency department, and the population there is very similar to that of Burnley and Pendle.”
Later Lynn Wissett said: “The model of care is designed so that on average, 87 per cent of accidents and emergencies can still go to Burnley General Hospital and our advice has always been – ‘do as you did before’.
“If you can get to hospital by yourself then you can be treated at Burnley’s urgent care centre, if that is your nearest hospital.
“If an ambulance is required, dial 999 and the paramedics will decide the most appropriate hospital to take you to.”
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