Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham calls for more investment in Burnley General Hospital to reduce waiting times

During Health Questions in the House of Commons he raised issues with waiting times at the Royal Blackburn Hospital A&E, citing it as a reason to build on the services available at Burnley, so that less people have to travel to Blackburn.

Speaking Parliament he said: “I am very grateful that she's (hrealth minister Helen Whately) agreed to meet with me and other East Lancashire MPs to discuss the situation of emergency care in East Lancashire.

“But could I ask her to go one step further and perhaps her and the Secretary of State for Health could come to Burnley, to visit Burnley General, to meet with the Trust and see what more we can do at Burnley General, partly to reverse the disastrous decision of the last Labour government to close the in A&E unit.”

Responding, Health Minister Helen Whately MP said: “I commend my honourable friend on his campaigning on this matter and other colleagues from East Lancashire. I look forward to the meeting that we're going to have to discuss, the performance of his local A&E. And I thank you very much for the invitation to visit as well.”

Speaking afterwards, Burnley’s MP said: “The single biggest thing residents tell me when speaking about NHS care is that Labour’s decision to close Burnley’s A&E and move it to Blackburn has been terrible for our town

“That’s what I’ve consistently raised with the Department of Health. Because if there ever was a way to bring back the A&E then I’d jump at it. But given the complexity, and the false promises that have been offered previously, my focus has also been on working to see more investment at Burnley General so that less of us have to travel to Blackburn to receive the medical care we need.

“In the last few years alone, Burnley has seen advanced surgical robots installed and new endoscopy rooms to enable quicker diagnosis and ultimately treatment. But I’ll continue to push the case to further improve the facilities we have here, alongside raising legitimate concerns about Blackburn Royal.”