HEALTH bosses today slammed a £10,000 "golden hello" scheme to attract new GPs as woefully inadequate and said East Lancashire on the verge of serious shortages.

Primary Care bosses are struggling to recruit more family doctors to the area and fear new Government grants are not enough to encourage more young doctors to settle here.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn has announced every GP who starts working in general practice will get a £5,000 "golden hello".

Newly qualified GPs who go to deprived areas, including Rossendale, Hyndburn, Pendle, Burnley and Blackburn with Darwen, will get an extra £5,000.

But Dr Alistair Murdoch, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Primary Care Trust, which is responsible for providing GP services, said the one-off payments, welcomed by local MPs, would not tempt young doctors from more lucrative consultancy work.

And he said deprived areas also suffered because there were more long-term opportunities for GPs to boost their income with private work in more affluent areas.

The average GP in Blackburn and Darwen GP is responsible for about 2,000 patients, compared to a recommended 1,700 for deprived areas.

Patients tend to have more illnesses and need more attention in less well-off areas, so GPs should have smaller practices.

The problem is likely to worsen over the next five years as 15 of the area's 78 GPs are due to retire. Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and Burnley are in similar situations.

Dr Murdoch, who is struggling to find a new partner for his Shadsworth practice, said: "It's a nice idea, but it's woefully inadequate. We have just been turned down by a GP who could get an extra £30,000 every year at a practice down south."

Already, one Blackburn GP who cannot find a new business partner is responsible for 5,000 patients -- more than three times the recommended number.

Dr Zubair Buck, of Brookhouse Medical Centre, Blackburn, inherited thousands more patients when his father Dr Patel retired last year, and he has been unable to find a replacement. Patient watchdog Nigel Robinson, of the Community Health Council, said he was concerned the extra workload would affect patient care.

He said: "It's not Dr Buck's fault he has ended up with this problem. He has hired locums but really a practice needs stability.

"It's impossible for a doctor to sustain this kind of workload. There's a danger of tiredness setting in, and it affects the time a doctor can give to each individual patient."

Mr Robinson said he was not convinced the extra cash would bring GPs into the area.

He said: "People want more from work than money. There have been problems recruiting professionals of all kind to East Lancashire because it is not seen as an attractive place."

Hyndburn MP Mr Pope said: "This is excellent. This is delivering front line health services to the people of East Lancashire which is what they want. We need more GPs to improve health in Hyndburn and this is what we are going to get."