A PRIVATE healthcare scheme designed to tackle waiting lists in East Lancashire is finally set to get off the ground - at least two months late.

Health Minister Ivan Lewis has confirmed that independent sector treatment centres, offered by Swedish health giant Capio, should be up and running next month.

Hospital trusts are facing tough new targets to ensure all patients wait only 18 weeks between being referred by their GP and their first meaningful treatment taking place.

In August the Lancashire Telegraph reported how the £500million five-year deal with Capio, due to begin in September, had still not been financially sealed.

Back then NHS officials predicted that the system, which will see Capio offer general surgery and orthopaedics at locations across Lancashire and Cumbria, would start in October after a few "glitches" had been ironed out.

Mr Lewis confirmed this week that it will now be November before it will commence - seven months after East Lancashire Hospitals Trust began gearing up for the 18-week target at the start of the current financial year.

An NHS spokesman said patients would "benefit from reduced waiting times and more choice" as a result of the Capio partnership being resolved.

He added: "Capio was selected as it was considered to provide the best service delivery model, satisfactorily met the performance criteria outlined as part of the procurement process, and were considered to provide value for money within the affordability threshold."

Capio has private hospitals at Euxton Hall, near Chorley, Fulwood, close to Preston, and Ormskirk, which are expected to offer a range of referral treatments.

The centre will be in the Abbey Gisburn Park Hospital, Gisburn.

The delays are the latest blow as the NHS market is opened up to private enterprise in Lancashire.

Another scheme, offering clinical assessment and treatment centres (CATs) at sites in Blackburn and Burnley, has been mired in hold-ups.

The CATs project was also due to be launched at the St Peter's Centre in Burnley and a yet-to-be-decided location in Blackburn this autumn.

But the deal with South African health provider Netcare was revised at the 11th hour - that firm has been given extra time to respond to the new offer and CATs will not arrive before next spring now.

Hospital bosses in East Lancashire have already taken steps to cope with the pressures of the new 18-week target themselves.

Patients have been warned that GPs may be barred from referring cases, in certain circumstances, when agreed capacity limits have been reached.

Hospital leaders say needy patients will continue to be treated but they have been faced with increasing numbers of patients being referred.

Another measure they are adopting would see the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals removed from a list of patient choices at other north-west hospitals.