HEALTH bosses have announced the latest line-up of people's champions at an East Lancashire health authority.

Appointments have been made to the non-executive director posts at Blackburn with Darwen NHS Primary Care Trust.

The roles are for members of the pubic with a special interest in the NHS. Their job is to scrutinise bosses up close and inform decision making.

Primary care trusts lie at the heart of the NHS. They manage community services such as GP surgeries and decide what services and what level of services should be provided by hospitals.

Three new faces have begun work at the PCT as non-executive directors until 2008. They will be paid £7,500 each a year.

They are: Joseph Slater, a project manager for Lancashire County Council, Lesley Bassett, an accountant and Janaid Qureshi, who was a non-executive director of the now defunct Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority.

Three existing non-executive directors have also been appointed.

Ibrahim Master has been appointed chair of the audit committee and non-executive director on a term until October 2009.

Mr Master is a former chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques and will be paid £12,500 a year.

He joins Naseem Malik, who also takes up vice-chairman of the PCT and care home manager Raymond Pullinger.