HEALTH bosses have been given the go-ahead to set up a scheme which will help give run-down doctors' surgeries a new lease of life.

The three primary care trusts in East Lancashire - Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale and Hyndburn and Ribble Valley - have been given the green light to create their own company to renovate, refurbish and improve GP practices. It comes under the Government's new Local Improvement Finance Trust scheme.

The company, which is expected to be up and running in the autumn of 2003, will be a partnership with a private company and the PCTs will be shareholders.

The move will bring extra money from the private sector into improvements. Managers hope it will also mean they can work in partnership with the council and complement its regeneration plans.

There are 114 GP practices in East Lancashire, many of which are in a poor state of repair.

In a joint statement, the three chief executives, Dr Leigh Griffin at Hyndburn and Ribble Valley,Vivien Aspey at Blackburn with Darwen, and David Peat with Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, said: "This is an important opportunity for us to get investment into local health buildings and premises .

"Not only we will be able to offer significantly better facilities, we will also be able to develop new patterns of care, based on closer working between health and other services."

"NHS LIFT initiatives will also enable us to make sure that everyone is able to get equal access to the health services they need. By offering suitable premises with minimum financial risk, NHS LIFT initiatives are also likely to attract more GPs and other health professionals to work in East Lancashire."

There will be interviews for a project director this month.