A WATCHDOG boss said he remained "sceptical" after health chiefs said cash-saving bed cuts would not damage patient care.

Managers at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust told a council committee that the cuts had reduced delays.

They were called before Blackburn with Darwen Council's health overview and scrutiny committee to update members halfway into the bed cull programme.

But the committee's chairman, Coun Tony Humphrys, said afterwards: "We are sceptical. I remain concerned that until I can see active proof that the bed reduction is making savings and providing the same level of care."

A total of 253 overnight beds will be axed by April to save £2.5 million - 20 per cent of all beds at hospitals in Blackburn and Burnley.

A report from East Lanc-ashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We can demonstrate that we have achieved this substantial bed reduction programme through working more efficiently.

"There is also evidence to suggest that rather than damaging patient care, this focus has helped to reduce the delays patients exper-ience and strengthened clinical management."

They said changes to how doctors and nurses work had allowed the beds to be axed.

Crucial to this was cutting the amount of time a patient spent in hospital from 16 per cent for pre-planned treat-ment and nine per cent for emergencies.

They said this had been achieved by measures including: l Carrying out pre-operative work on the day of the procedure rather than a separate day, freeing up a bed.

l Doctors seeing patients more often on wards, meaning some can go home quicker.

l Teams specialising in breathing problems, physio-therapy and social services to support patients at Burnley General.

l Reducing waiting times for tests such as x-rays, allowing people to go home earlier.

More emergency and pre-planned overnight patients were coming to hospital they said, but services were coping with this demand.

This meant cancelled operations had fallen by about 50 per cent compared to last year. Re-admissions were also down.

Dr Geraint Jones, the trust's clinical head of division for medicine, said more beds meant care was more "concentrated so there is far more input into each patient bed".

He said: "Quality was reducing last year when we had large numbers of patients in the wrong beds.

"All our indicators were saying to us this isn't working, this is wrong and we had to do something about it."

This year the trust has to save an unprecedented £14 million.

The bed cuts will save £2.5 million through staff not being replaced and moved into empty posts.

By 2009, a third of all beds will have been axed.