Gordon Birtwistle & Burnley Liberal Democrats

Leading Councillors and other top Liberal Democrats from across East Lancashire held a hospital crisis summit in Colne on Wednesday (2nd January) to demand immediate action on the growing problems which have beset the main hospitals in Burnley and Blackburn since the  reorganisation of services.

The meeting was led by Pendle Councillor Lord Tony Greaves and Burnley Council Leader Gordon Birtwistle. Also present were the Deputy Leader of Blackburn Council, Councillor David Foster; the leader of Pendle Council, Councillor Alan Davies; and Liberal Democrat group leaders Councillor Allan Knox (Ribble Valley) and Councillor Cath Pilling (Rossendale), together with key Councillors, party officials and members from all six districts.

The summit heard a series of horror stories which have occurred since the transfer of blue light Accident & Emergency services from Burnley General to the Royal Blackburn and other changes.

The Liberal Democrat summit decided:
”       to call immediately for an urgent and rapid independent review of hospital services in East Lancashire.
”       to co-ordinate Liberal Democrat action on the hospital crisis across East Lancashire including collecting of information from patients and people working in the NHS, putting together a dossier and a set of proposals to solve the problems.

”       to build a campaign to force the NHS authorities to take urgent action  now.

Tony Greaves said: It is obvious to everyone that very urgent action is needed  the system is bust, patients are not getting the service they deserve and some are dying, as a result of the incompetence of the top bureaucrats. Staff are doing their best but both patients and staff have had enough  the time for urgent action is now.

Gordon Birtwistle said: From Burnley the message is simple  we want our hospital back. What we said would happen has happened  it is a disaster and we will not accept it.

David Foster said: The problems from the Blackburn and Darwen viewpoint are that our local hospital is just not coping with the workload. The problem is an East Lancashire problem and we are determined to see it tackled on an East Lancashire level.

Alan Davies said: We want everyone with something to say about this crisis to do so now  people can write to us, post on the websites, write to the press, phone or email  and if people such as staff have to do soon a confidential basis we will respect that. There really does have to be a massive uprising of the people in order to get this massive problem
sorted out.

The Liberal Democrats said that they will work together with everyone who cares about the local hospitals, their patients and the people who work in them, until there is a dramatic improvement in the service that local people are getting.