HEALTH bosses fear an increase in waiting lists because proposals to close 19 of the county's OAP care homes will lead to pensioners clogging up hospital beds.

Today John Dell, acting chief executive of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, said they were hoping to meet with the man behind the care home closures plan to discuss their concerns.

Coun Chris Cheetham, Lancashire County Council's social services boss, said he did not want to see "bedblocking" but wanted to see health authority figures before making any further comment.

Currently, if an old person goes into hospital and is deemed to need community care such as a care homes place, they are found a place by social services.

In Blackburn with Darwen, many old people are assisted by an advanced rehabilitation scheme where old people are assessed and given support in their own home. Alternatively, they are found a care home place.

But in Lancashire, most go into care home places found by the county council. If none are available in the private sector, then beds are found in county-run homes.

Lancashire County Council wants to close 35 of its 48 homes across Lancashire, including 19 in East Lancashire, a plan which has prompted a massive outcry. They say they need £14.5million to bring homes up to standard and carry out repairs.

A final decision is expected in July, with the council looking at providing alternative care in people's homes.

They had expected to rely on the private sector to house people in future -- but private sector bosses say many of their homes will close because new standards will make it an unprofitable business for them.

The council had also hoped private homes will adapt to provide respite and rehabilitation care like the council in Blackburn with Darwen provides. But Frank Hessey, chairman of the Lancashire Care Association, says this is unlikely because care homes only have to pay regular council tax, whereas rehabilitation and respite centres have to pay full business rates -- up to £30,000 a year more than at present.

That could mean elderly patients leaving hospital will have nowhere to go.

Mr Dell said: "We do have concerns about the problems and potential knock-on effect it will have in the hospitals.

"We are concerned it will cause bedblocking in our hospitals, something which isn't a problem at the moment. We would like to keep it that way.

"We want to meet with the people behind the plans to express our concerns and get a full explanation of what is going on.

"Someone is deemed to be bedblocking if they are in hospital five days after they could have gone home or to a home.

"It can be caused by a number of factors but a big cause can be lack of community provision."

Coun Chris Cheetham, who unveiled the plans to close the care homes earlier this year, said: "I am happy to sit down with the health authorities and discuss their concerns but I would like to see some figures first.

"Bedblocking is something we don't want."