HOSPITAL bosses have faced a lot of criticism over the last few months.

Ever since Burnley General Hospital’s accident and emergency department closed last November, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has been under pressure from local councillors.

Earlier this year a doctor at the hospitals broke ranks to speak out about the problems faced since services were reorganised and the Royal Blackburn Hospital started dealing with all emergencies.

This month Barrowford GP Dr Iain Ashworth said that patients were being discharged ‘dangerously early’ to free up beds.

Today the hospitals’ chief executive Marie Burnham has hit back at the critics saying that patients would never be put at risk.

She is particularly annoyed that, by speaking out in this way, Dr Ashworth may undermine public confidence in the services provided.

Both hospitals have been praised in independent audits for the quality of care provided.

But the fact that the trust is operating so close to capacity is a cause for concern.

The admission that the hospital is in talks to receive extra money from primary care trusts to provide extra beds highlights how serious the situation is.

There needs to be a co-ordinated approach to the problems being faced by all the healthcare providers, who have to work well together.

If this is not achieved, the public will undoubtedly suffer and the criticism will become far more intense.