NURSES based in Burnley are being paid to sit on a bus and travel to and from Blackburn to cover a winter staffing problem.

Staff who normally work at Burnley General Hospital are "wasting" around an hour a day completing the round trip.

Hospital bosses are allowing nurses to travel during their working day to show their "appreciation" of their efforts, and because otherwise the journey would add "considerable time on to their shift."

Nursing unions said the deal would alleviate childcare problems caused by moving staff from their normal workplace.

But patient groups have hit out at the move, calling it inefficient and wasteful.

Increases in medical emergencies and winter illnesses at both the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital have meant that planned surgery at Burnley has been reduced, and 14 acute medical beds, along with the staff to cover them, have been transferred to Blackburn.

Staff can either make their own way to Blackburn, or use the free shuttle bus, which takes patients, visitors and staff between the two hospitals every 20 minutes.

And hospital bosses said moving staff between the hospitals in this way was not unusual, happening even before the controversial changes under the controversial Meeting Patients' Needs clinical services review, which removed A & E services from Burnley.

John Amos, chairman of the East Lancashire Hospitals public and patient involvement forum, said: "They are saying it is one trust and staff are expected to work at different sites, then paying people to travel.

"I'd be pretty peeved if I was one of the nurses who has been transferred over to Blackburn permanently and has to make their own way there.

"The staff are being paid to sit on a bus and the patients are being deprived of that time and money."

Vice chairman Helen Hedges added: "It seems a very inefficient and wasteful use of professionals' time and resources."

But Caroline Collins, East Lancashire's regional officer for the Royal College of Nursing, said the move was likely to have been designed to ensure no "unreasonable" requests were made of nurses.

She said: "It might not be possible for someone with childcare commitments to add an hour on to their shift, which would make the request to work at Blackburn unreasonable in terms of employment guidelines."

Val Bertenshaw, director of operations at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Staff have been very supportive in making this temporary ward work well and to show our appreciation of this effort they can use the shuttle bus or own transport to make the journey to Blackburn during their shift - not in their own personal time, which would add considerable time on to their shift.

"As an organisation which covers four local hospitals, there is a requirement for staff to be flexible to ensure that patient need is met.

"As an employer we work very hard to plan our activity to ensure all areas of the hospital are staffed appropriately."