LEVELS of deprivation in Burnley and East Lancashire can no longer be used as an excuse for poorly- performing hospital services, according to a senior councillor.

Liberal Democrats in Burnley have won the support of fellow borough councillors for a motion calling on East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust to ensure services are ‘brought up to a consistently high standard’, in the wake of Sir Bruce Keogh’s controversial review.

The trust was inspected as it had one of the 11 worst death rates in the country, and leading figures from a Newcastle hospital have been drafted in to show the way ahead for their Lancashire counterparts.

Coun Margaret Lishman, Burnley Lib-Dem group leader, said: “Death rates have been a cause for concern for many years and the standard answer from medical professionals, if asked, has always been that death rates are because of high levels of deprivation.

“Well now we know that was an excuse, not a reason.

“Our hospital has been paired with a high-performing hospital to learn best practice.

“And where is that hospital? “In Newcastle upon Tyne, another hugely-deprived area, but with a hospital that manages to provide excellent services despite the underlying problems in their communities.”

Coun Julie Cooper said councillors would be quizzing East Lancashire trust chief executive Mark Brearley next week at the town hall.