A FIRM which moved to Blackburn from London two years ago, has launched a healthcare scheme to enhance NHS services rather than replace them.

Insurance firm Berkeley Morgan plc, of Phoenix Park in Blakewater Road, launched the NHS Plus plan after customers said they would be happy to pay more tax, if it meant improvements in health services.

Managing director Jon Pardoe, who relocated the company north after struggling with rising costs of business in London and transport problems in the capital said: "The NHS Plan is available for an entire family for less than many people spend on the lottery."

Research for the company by Universal Provident found people's priorities for improvement in the NHS included the length of waiting lists, lack of privacy in public wards and the inability to get certain treatments.

The scheme will help with the cost of a private room when patients receive treatment on the NHS, and, if treatment is not available within six months, the company will pay for the treatment privately.